


Meetings

by CelticDaughter



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-18
Updated: 2018-10-18
Packaged: 2018-11-02 07:58:35
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 48
Words: 139,963
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10940292
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CelticDaughter/pseuds/CelticDaughter
Summary: Fleur and Hermione meet for the first time during the Triwizard Tournament and they met a few other times after. It's only three years after that their souls recognize each other. Right in the middle of a war. How will their families and friends react to such news? *Femslash* Hermione/Fleur





	1. Prologue

Of course she remembered the first time she saw her, at least the first time she noticed her bushy brown hair. It has been about two years and today she was standing by the door of a small kitchen crowded with redheads and there she was, standing on the opposite corner of the room, talking to her famous friend, Harry Potter.

“Fleur! It’s so nice to finally meet you!” The oldest redhead woman greeted her as she came inside moments before. “Bill has been talking about you nonstop since he got here!”

“Mom!” Her redhead boyfriend groaned, she only smiled lightly.

His little sister was wearing a frown leaving quite obvious that she didn’t like the blonde. Fleur knew the younger girls didn’t like her. What she didn’t know was why. It was imaginable why Ginevra didn’t like her, she was dating her older brother. But it fled from her the motive of the brunette dislike. Oh, right, there was the fact that her trail didn’t affect them. Still her intense dislike…

“Hallo, Fleur!” The twins spoke to her in unison smiling widely.

“‘ello everyone!” She smiled.

“Nice to meet you again, Fleur!” Harry was now next to her, having left Hermione to whisper almost angrily at Ginevra. He smiled at her motioning to hug her, which she reciprocated.

“Nice to meet you too, ‘arry!”

She arrived at the Burrow a few days after Bill, around the middle of Hogwarts summer vacations. Fleur was highly distraught with Bill’s plan of her getting to know his family. They were dating for a year now and neither had met each other’s parents. She wanted to let Bill get some family time before she arrived so she made sure to get there at least a week after him.

Fleur knew that her Veela heritage wouldn’t allow her to actually fall in love with him as she knew he wasn’t her mate. It might have escaped her mind that she should tell him that. And she was well aware that she was being a bitch doing it, but she was beginning to feel a little lonely when she moved to England and then began to feel attached to him. But she knew she had to talk to him soon.

“Fleur, babe? Are you ok?” Bill reached her and stole her from her thoughts.

“Sure, just got lost in my zoughts.” She smiled faintly. And in a last minute decision, “I actually need to talk to you later” she whispered to him, making him tense up.

“Ok. After dinner?” He asked as his mother shushed them all from the kitchen, asking only Ginevra and Hermione to stay and help. Fleur nodded to him.

“I would be glad to ‘elp too, Molly.”

“Absolutely not! Bill, go show her the house and where she will be staying, with the girls!” She said, making them get out of the room. Fleur heard a grunt coming from where she had been and was quite sure it came from the younger girls that stayed behind. “Ginevra Weasley, you are going to treat your brother’s girlfriend well! As will you Hermione!” The blonde heard the woman scold her daughter at her antics.

“Yes, mom. I’ll treat Phlegm all right.” Fleur frowned, she had heard that one while in Hogwarts during the Triwizard Tournament, but she had forgotten it completely.

“Enough with that silly nickname!”

“Babe, I’ll show you around.” Bill said, with his hand around her waist, making her stop paying attention to the other’s blathering. He showed her every room stopping at Ginevra’s to drop her baggage he had been carrying all along.

“Dinner is ready!” Molly said, poking her head out of the kitchen as they arrived at the room the others were. As they got inside and sat, she found herself stuck between Molly and Ginevra.

“Ginevra, would you pass me ze salt please?” She noticed that she might have said something very wrong as the girl had grown red in anger.

“Uh, you might want to call her Ginny, Fleur.” Harry smiled apologetically at her.

“Yeah! Unless you want a painful death.” Fred said, seriously.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Won’t ‘appen again.” She said nodding slowly.

As they finished eating, she grew nervous. That was it, she was going to basically shatter the redheaded’s heart she was dating. She would regret it. Saying that to him now would make her look even worse. She saw Bill stand from his seat and invite her for a walk outside. Both of them were walking side by side, quietly. Once they were far enough from the house, Bill stopped and looked at her.

“You wanted to talk…” he said, quietly.

“Oui. Bill I don’t know ‘ow to say zis.” She begun, looking at her feet.

“Have you found them?”

“Pardon?” Fleur looked up into his eyes.

“Your mate. Have you found them?” The redhead smiled at her, sadly.

“Uh, ‘ow… ‘ow did you…”

“I just happen to know one or two part veela wizards. And they have found their mates.” Bill was now smiling at her sincerely, “And I just know I’m not yours. What we feel for each other isn’t what I heard a veela and its mate feel about each other. At least in my part.”

“Oh Bill!” Fleur hugged him dearly. “I’m sorry I didn’t talk about eet before!” She began to cry.

“Hey, it’s ok. It’s not like you have been fooling me. You weren’t ready to talk about this and that eminent war made everything worse. We need each other.” He soothed her a little. “Now tell me. Who are they?”

“I ‘aven’t found my mate yet, Bill. I was just anguished about not telling you.” She said, leaning out.

“Oh. I see. Fleur, I…”

“I’m sorry. You are my friend, above all. I should ‘ave talked to you sooner.”

“It’s really ok, Fleur. I am your friend and happen to consider you my best friend. We were only in a friends with benefits phase.” He laughed. “No hard feelings. And if you want, I’d like to keep dating you.”

“Seriously?”

“Well, of course. The time I spent with you was really good. I love you. Just not the way mates are supposed to.” Fleur was awestruck. Of all the out comings she had imagined, this was not one of them. “Only please let me know when you find you mate. And don’t listen to my mother’s nonsense about marriage. She seems to think we should get married soon.”

“I will. Isn’t because you ‘ave been talking about me nonstop?” She gave him a smile and a soft peck on the lips. “And I love you too, I’m really sad you aren’t my mate but I’m sure you will eventually find the one for you and that’s why I can’t hold you behind by dating me.”

“And who said you would hold me back? Oh come on. No strings attached, we could try these open relationships.” He smiled at her. “We are at war, Fleur. It’s not like I’m going to find the love of my life now or anytime soon.” He hugged her and kissed her head.

“What did I do to deserve someone like you?” She said, leaning against him.

“What do you say?”

“Ok.”

“Good. Now let’s get back before mom starts to freak out that we are out for too long.”

They walked to the Burrow hugging and went to the living room where everyone was chatting. Apparently, while they were outside some of the other members of the Order arrived. The room was now crowded. The Burrow was strongly protected, they had a Fidelius Charm on it and at least four members of the Order were guarding it’s surrounding.

Molly decided that they should throw a birthday party for Harry. Some of them were against it,  Moody, above all. Somehow, the Death eaters found out and they were attacked.

Fleur wasn’t sure about what transpired because was busy fighting  one of them but she heard someone among her own yell “The lightening is gone!”. Relief. One by one, the Death Eaters retreated. And in the next afternoon a worried sick Molly received an otter patronus, letting her know that her son, Harry and Hermione were fine and that Dumbledore had left them something to do.

“They are just kids! Dumbledore was a crazy men!” An angry Molly stormed out of the room they all were. The Weasley’s clock had all its hands indicating ‘deadly danger’.

About a month after Fleur saw Molly say her goodbyes to her daughter. Even with the school being taken by Death Eaters, she had no choice. At least there the girl would be under some protection, McGonagall’s.


	2. Chapter 1

About eight months later, Minerva sent the members of the Order a patronus summoning all of them to the school, saying that Voldemort’s domain over the school had ended and that they were on verge of a battle. When they got there, they found out that the trio was there and that they were the reason that Hogwarts was now free. Well almost free, it was on siege. The trio was nowhere to be seen, as Harry asked Minerva sometime before he could do anything. No one truly knew what was going on except for them and maybe the older witch. Within a couple of hours, the dark forces begun their attack as Harry Potter was not delivered as demanded by Voldemort. At that point, they arrived.

Fleur could not believe her own eyes. The three of them were actually quite mature. Obviously, all the time they spent alone must have made they grow faster than they should. The blonde was now trying to understand what was happening to her. To be honest with herself, she knew. The butterflies on her stomach, the need to protect. Her mate.

“Merde.” She said under her breath. Noticing that the three of them worked together as one, she decided to stick around in case the needed any help. She needed to protect her mate after all.

“Are you ok, Fleur?” Bill was by her side and heard her cursing.

“Yeah. I’m fine. Zey are coming.” She said as a bunch of death eaters fled in their direction.

*****

"You have one hour.” An evil voice sounded inside everyone’s heads as the death eaters retreated.

They had some casualties, but Fleur was thanking Merlin that none of the Weasleys were wounded beyond repair and that most of the members of the order were still alive. And the trio had suffered little injuries, not that they really needed any help from her. Not the trio, actually, at some point during the battle Harry had vanished. A few minutes later, he reappeared, in shock and holding a flask.

Fleur observed closely and saw the boy ran upstairs.

“Are you really fine, Fleur? You seem off.” Bill never left her side even though he found it strange the fact that his friend’s eyes wouldn’t leave the infamous trio, even in battle.

“Bill. I found her.”

“Sorry?” He seemed confused.

“Merde. I found my mate, Bill.” The blonde smiled at him, tears threatening to fall. “In ze middle of a fucking battle!” She was now beginning to feel her face warmer. He smiled.

“You can’t stop looking at the three of them, your protectiveness towards them is almost irresponsible, given you roughly protected yourself.” His smile got bigger as he followed his line of thoughts. “And we must not forget you referred to you mate as she…”

The Veela couldn’t help but smile at him.

“Hermione Granger.” He said. “Fits you both, I believe. You are both fierce.”

“I still have to make her not hate me anymore.” She said, seriously.

“You will work something out. I’ll go stay with mom a little, love you. Good luck.” He left her, both knowing that when the hour they had come to an end he would be back fighting alongside her. They both had decided that as soon as she found her mate they wouldn’t be a couple anymore.

“Je t’aime. Au revoir.” Their relationship wouldn’t change that much, except for the sex part. But she could live with that. She was saying goodbye to the boyfriend she had and later she would greet her best friend.

As the hour passed by she saw the inseparable trio walking outside the castle, Ron holding a crying Hermione. Not wanting to disturb them, she waited. A few minutes later Hermione and Ron reentered the castle and went straight to Minerva. She seemed to be exasperated. Fleur went there, not knowing what to do at that moment.

“… reckless that’s what he is!” She heard the older woman say.

“Pardon. What ‘appened? I saw ‘arry going outside, where is ‘e?” She asked the other three. She was closer to the professor as soon as she finished speaking, Ginny approached Hermione,

“‘Mione, where is he?” she said.

The brunette, who had been looking at her feet since the professor’s outburst, looked sadly at her friend. “He went to the Forbidden Forest.” Needless to say another word. The redhead understood what happened and her face completely lost its color. In a blink Ron was beside her, helping her seat. Since her friend would he fine, she turned her gaze to the older women. As her gaze locked with Fleur’s, Hermione froze. And Fleur once again felt her stomach drop and the butterflies.

“Miss Granger! I believe you were about to explain Mr. Potter’s antics.” The woman sounded slightly amused at the exchange occurring in front of her.

Hearing her name, the brunette snapped and looked at the professor.

“Sorry, professor. I believe you are familiar with Dumbledore’s theory about the Horcruxes.” Minerva nodded. That was something discussed within the Order. “We were chasing them this year so we could kill Voldemort.” everyone near them tensed. “As Professor Dumbledore had already identified, the first one to be destroyed was Tom Riddle’s Diary and then Marvolo’s Ring, both destroyed here in school. We unveiled Salazar Slytherin's Locket which Ron wrecked, then Helga Hufflepuff's Cup which I dismantled and, most recently, Rowena Ravenclaw's Diadem destroyed by Crabbe’s accidental Fiendfyre. Leaving one last Horcrux which we believe is Nagini, Voldemort’s snake. Apparently those are the Horcruxes he intentionally created.” Realisation ran through Fleur, as she understood what was indeed happening. Minerva had a look of horror.

“Oh my!” was the only thing she was able to say.

“HARRY POTTER IS DEAD!” Voldemort’s voice echoed inside the castle a while later. They ran towards the entry, Minerva leading them followed closely by Hermione, Ron and Ginny and Fleur was right after them, sensing Bill beside her. As they got outside, Hagrid came into sight, carrying Harry’s body. A painful scream could be heard. It came from McGonagall and as followed by his two friends and Ginny. What happened next was almost too quick to register what was really happening. Neville stepping in front of them, the Sorting Hat being summoned by Voldemort to later be set on fire on the boy’s head; the centaurs ending their neutrality; The House Elves coming to battle leaded by Kreacher and Dobby. Fleur didn’t miss a sudden movement near Hagrid and the fact that Harry’s body had vanished; Neville branding silver and striking the snake with it. And then hell broke loose. Without noticing, she and Bill were fighting four death eaters shoulder by shoulder with Hermione and Ron. The problem was, each time one of the death eaters fell, another one appeared. At some point, Ron and Bill were replaced by Ginny and Luna and now the four women were fighting Bellatrix. A Killing Course was shot, the next thing that Fleur sees is an enraged Molly Weasley in front of them confronting the crazy woman.

“You will not touch any of those girls. You won’t mess with my family!” The redhead roared.

Soon they were dueling, both to kill. Molly’s rage didn’t budge and at one point Fleur saw the crazy death eater begin to relax and make jokes about her family, then she saw a flash o light striking Lestrange right on her heart and heard a high-pitched scream. And in front of her she saw a flash coming from Voldemort towards Molly be absorbed by an invisible shield. Then she saw Harry Potter appearing out of nowhere. Gasps and cheers were heard around the castle. She heard Hermione and Ginny gasp and say his name. Fearing both of them would run towards him, she placed her arm in front of them, protectively as she was in front of the three younger girls. Looking at Hermione, she saw that the girl was actually holding her friend, who had an angry look on her face. Harry shot an apologetic look towards them, one that Fleur could only imagine was directed to the red headed girl.

The hole battlefield seemed to have been frozen.

“I don't want anyone else to try to help.” Harry said, this time towards his friend. “It has to be me.” She nodded.

Everyone was in shock, watching as both wizards battering, and Harry spilling lots of things to Voldemort. The hole exchange Fleur stood in front of the three younger girls wand in hand, ready to protect them with her life if it came to it.

“I am the true Master of the Elder Wand!” The chosen one shouted. Causing the snakelike man to roar in fury.

“Avada Kedavra!” He shot at the same time that harry shouted: “Expelliarmus!”

The Elder Wand was seen flying, apparently refusing to kill its master. The spell casted by Voldemort rebounded and hit him. Quickly Fleur and some other members of the Order casted bounding spells into the closest death eaters, whom were still in shock. She could hear Hermione’s voice casting them too but the girl soon stopped and ran towards her friend, hugging him the other two younger ladies in pursuit. Fleur smiled.

“Oh, I have been hoping I could see this look soon.” Bill side hugged her. She didn’t have words. She was just happy that it was finally over.

The death eaters that hadn’t been held prisoners, fled. That would be a hell of a hunt, Fleur thought. The Order divided itself in two, as part of them secured the new detainees and the other part assisted Minerva rebuilding the most damaged parts of the castle. The House Elves took charge of refurbishing the rest of the castle.

Fleur spent the next day with Bill and her family, having flooed her family to reassure her mother that she was fine. Most students were going home today, after Minerva had made sure that their parents were fine. Those that had nowhere to go would stay in school until the new minister, Shacklebolt, and Minerva, the new Headmistress, figured what could be done for them. She was caught off guard when Hermione approached her.

“Hi.” The brunette said, shyly. “Uh, I wanted to thank you for your help while fighting Bellatrix.”

“Not zat you needed eet but, de tien, ‘ermione” She suppressed the blush that was emerging to her face by looking at her feet. And missed the other girl’s blush.

“Hermione dear, come here! You are family too!” Molly said as saw the younger talking to Fleur.

“I… Uh, I’ve got to find professor McGonagall. Excuse me. I’ll come back later.”


	3. Chapter 2

The wise girl made every possible effort to keep herself from running towards the headmistress. The older woman sat with the other professors, chatting. They all stopped talking and Minerva looked at her.

“Uh, professor, can I talk to you for a second?”

“Sure, miss Granger.” The woman smiled at her, standing from her seat and leading the girl to a secluded area on the Great Hall. Hermione was nervous so she stared at her feet. “I would be very glad to have you back at school so you can finish your education, Hermione.” The girl’s head shot upwards. “Oh please, you really thought I didn’t know you would want to come back? I have been the Head of Gryffindor the hole time you were here. I ended up knowing the three of you quite well. An option will be offered to all the last year students that fought here, they can either stay in school and finish their studies or leave and begin their live outside. Minister Shacklebolt assured that the ministry will be happy to employ those who choose to leave Hogwarts. I imagine you two friends will be happy to get rid of school just as I was sure you would come back next year.” Hermione smiled, she too was sure that Ron and Harry would leave school.

“Thank you, professor.” The girl turned to leave.

“One last thing, miss Granger.”

“Yes?”

“I’m happy to inform you that your parents have been located by the Australian Ministry.” The older woman smiled at the awestruck war hero in front of her. “After you vanished with Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley, I went to your house to cast as many protective spells as possible to protect your family. Only to find out that they weren’t there anymore. While I was talking about that to Molly, miss Weasley heard me and informed me of your plan to protect them. We were unsure that you had pursued it until Mr. Weasley appeared, he confirmed what Ginevra said. Then I asked the Minister in there to try and locate your parents. As the war now is over I imagine you will want to go and reverse the spell.” The girl was smiling widely and crying at the same time. She hugged the headmistress, not managing to keep herself from doing it.

“Thank you!” Hermione then wiped the tears from her face. “I’ll head to the library now to find the reversing spell!”

“Oh, dear! That remembers me.” McGonagall took a parchment from her robes. “Filius spent some time himself trying to find the spell. Here it is.” She handled the paper to the brunette. “Flitwick asked me give it to you.”

“Professor Flitwick found the spell?”

“Yes, dear. Now, he told me that you will need some help to perform that one. It must be casted by two wizards. As your best friends aren’t particularly good in this kind of spells, I recommend you find someone to help you. Maybe Fleur Delacour or Bill Weasley as both work breaking curses.”

Hermione held the parchment as if her own life depended on it and nodded, going towards the blonde woman and the redheaded family. She didn’t understand what was happening to her, the girl that annoyed her to no end last year was now making her flutter every time she heard her name. When she reached the family she was looking for, she was smiling. The girl sat down at between Ginny and Ron, Harry was holding Ginny’s hand and the girl looked overjoyed. Hermione decided that whatever it was that made she feel the way she was feeling around the veela, it could wait until after she retrieved her parents. But before arranging her departure, she wanted to share the news with her friends.

“Hey, ‘Mione! What’s that?” The younger girl asked her friend, forcing her back from her thoughts.

“Uh, McGonagall found my parents. And professor Flitwick found the spell I need!” She smiled at her friends. The two boys had their attention turned to her as soon as Ginny spoke.

“That’s wonderful! So, when are you leaving?” Harry smiled at her. The months they spent alone, fleeing the death eaters caused the two of them to know each other quite well, Harry knew that his friend was eager to find her family. But who wouldn’t?

“As soon as possible. I actually need some help, since the spell needs to be casted by two wizards.” She smiled at him.

“I’m all yours, ‘mione.” Harry said, causing Ginny to wrap him with her arms.

“No, you are not! Besides, you ain’t even good with these kind of spells.” The redhead said causing the trio to laugh.

“Ginny is right, Harry you are frightfully bad at these. Professor McGonagall told me to ask Bill or Fleur.” Again, the mention of the blonde’s name made her heart flutter. Looking at Ginny, she saw her friend crook a brow at her name. Hermione realised that she couldn’t ask Fleur to accompany her. She felt like this only when mentioning her, she didn’t want to imagine how she would feel traveling by her side.

“Oh.” Harry said. He didn’t miss the light blush in his friends cheeks when she mentioned the veela.

“You know, my brother and her are not together anymore. Maybe I have a chance with her now.” Ron said dreamingly.

“Ron!” Ginny punched his shoulder, making him snap back to reality.

“What? I was just wondering!”

Harry was still looking at his friend when Ron mentioned Bill and Fleur’s breakup. That new information caused his friend to hide her face on her hands. When she looked up again, she was deeply blushing. What the heck happened while he was at the forest? He was confused.

Hermione noticed her best friend looking at her and realized he must have noticed something in her actions, because he was starring at her curiously. And she noticed his eyes wander to where she knew the blonde was. She decided that she should talk to Bill and make sure Molly wouldn’t be  bothered by her getting him away from so early. Standing, she made her way towards Bill.


	4. Chapter 3

Fleur saw the brunette stand from where she was and walk towards her. Once more her heart fluttered. The girl stood silently in front of her and Bill apparently trying to decide how to say something. She felt Bill's gaze on her as she looked at the younger girl wordless. He turned to the standing woman.

"Hermione!" It seemed to awake her as she turned to him.

"Yes, Bill, I need to ask you something and explain why." She looked in his eyes. Hermione was obviously trying not to look at her, which made her sad. "After fleeing from the Burrow last year, I stopped by my parents' house and whipped myself from their memories attempting to protect them. And magically suggested that they went to Australia." Fleur felt herself widening her eyes. She couldn't imagine herself doing it to her parents, that was a strong woman in front of her. She heard the brunette explain what transpired while she was on the run with the two boys and what Minerva told her. "So, I was wandering if you could help me with it…" This last part, Hermione said looking at her feet.

"Well of course, Hermione! I'm pleased you asked. Now, let me see that spell." Bill smiled at his brother's friend and looked at the spell written and explained in the parchment. "I believe we should practice a little before going after them, but I'm kind of familiar with this spell. Fleur could help you with your part as she knows it too."

"Oh! Thank you, Bill!" The wise girl smiled and turned to her, making her freeze. "Would you, Fleur?" They now had their eyes locked and she could see the brunette's smile in her eyes.

"Of course, 'ermione!" She blinked, breaking eye contact, and leaned towards Bill to read the parchment. "Eet's not an easy spell but from what I 'eard about you, you will get eet in a blink." That observation made the other girl's face turn red.

"Thanks!" With some more talk they decided that they would leave as soon as Hermione got a hold of her part of the spell.

"I'll talk to mom, let her know that we will be leaving soon." Bill got up and went to his mother. Afraid that the girl in front of her would go back to her friends, Fleur decided to begin to explain the spell.

"'ermione, do you know 'ow to perform wordless magic?" She asked. Since Minerva had instructed the girl to ask for one person help, Fleur realized that she might know how to do this kind of magic. Not that it surprised her at all. Hermione nodded. "You probably want to understand 'ow zee spell works…" One more nod. "I believe you already know zee nature of zee obliviate charm. Given you performed zee charm on your parents, you 'ave zee key to zeir mémoires. Which makes zis spell a lot easier. When zee obliviate charm eez performed, zee memories are kept zere but zey are not accessible. With zis spell, you will unlock zem, making everything come back to zee mind's surface." The brunette seemed to be drowning in the new information. "I believe zat eez all zee background information I 'ave to give you…" Hermione thanked her and left, leaving her to her thoughts.

Was that the face the girl made every time she learned something? Fleur asked herself.

"Mom is not happy, but she understands the urgency Hermione feels." Bill was back.

"Oui. Zat must 'ave been 'ard. I mean, erasing yourself completely from your parents' memories? I doubt I would have zee guts to do eet."

"Yes, I agree. Now, stop drooling." Bill said, with a smirk.

"I am not…" Fleur stared him, annoyed and blushing.

"Oh, yes you are! I know you, Fleur. Remember it." He said, taking his previous seat.

* * *

Hermione took only that afternoon to master the spell. Fleur explained to her that when casting it on her parents she would have to picture in her mind the moment that she casted the memory charm at them, the wise girl's eyes filled with tears as she remembered it.

She had trouble sleeping just like she had the night before, not because of the horrors of the war but because she couldn't understand something that was happening to her. And boy, that bothered her like hell. She was sleeping at one of the girl's dorm at Gryffindor's Tower, Ginny and she decided that they should share the room because their roommates had left the school earlier. She decided that since she couldn't sleep she should at least try to solve the puzzle that her head was at that moment. She got out of her bed and, silently, took the books she had picked up at the library and went downstairs to the common room.

Fleur heritage was something that always intrigued her but she never really had time to look at it deeply. After spending the hole previous afternoon with the veela she decided that it wouldn't hurt to know more about those creatures. The fact that she felt her heart fluttering and butterflies in her stomach the whole time she was with her and Bill at the vanishing room didn't influence the decision, at least that was what she was telling herself. She wasn't good with feelings, at least not with what she was feeling. Hermione sat on her favorite armchair and begun to go through the three books she had with her. Madam Pince knew she would be leaving the next morning and made her promise that she would return at least two before leaving. Three hours into it, she heard a noise coming from the boys' tower, minutes later Bill arrived at the common room.

"Oh! Hermione. You should be in bed…" He said. Seeing the titles of the books she was reading, he smiled. "Veelas are fascinating creatures, aren't they?"

"Yes." The girl agreed absently only to realize what he had just said a second later and blush profusely.

"You know, you could just ask Fleur about what you want to know…" He continued. Hermione put down the book she was currently reading and looked at the older Weasley.

"I never treated her well and I don't like the prospect of asking her about her veela heritage without a previous research." The girl managed to hide her blush but her ears were clearly red.

"Oh, yeah. I remember her saying she thought you and Ginny hated her." He was leaning against the window by her side.

"Uh. I never hated her. I just hated the fact that her thrall affected your brother so strongly. I happen to have had a crush on him during our fourth year." That was it she should go to bed. Talking about her crush on Ron with his oldest brother indicated she was sleepy. She blushed again. "I should go to sleep."

"I was going to the kitchen get a cup of tea. Would you like one, before we go to sleep?" he smiled at her.

"I shouldn't. We are not supposed to wander around the castle after hours."

"Oh, there is that." He smiled at her trying to hide his own blush for not remembering the school's rules.

They heard a crack and Dobby appeared.

"Hermione, would you want something? Dobby was making his last round around the castle and heard you talking." He bowed. "Good evening, Mr. Weasley. Is there something Dobby can do for you?"

"Oh, Dobby! You are a life saver! Could you please get us a cup of tea?" Hermione answered him. When he disappeared, the room felt again in silence and the girl retrieved the book she was reading before Bill arrived. Bill sat in front of her on the other side of the table and began to read one of the books. As soon as he finished his tea, which Dobby brought quickly, he went back to his room. Hermione stayed there a little longer but went upstairs as soon as she begun yawning.

The next morning, she went to the Great Hall ready to go. As Bill was. On her way down she left the three books at the library. She was nervous, what would her parents say when they find out what she had done? She would give anything just to have Harry with her, but she knew better. Her friend was tired of traveling and Ginny wanted him to stay. The wise girl knew better then to contradict the girl.

"Hey, good morning!" Said Bill, as he sat down in front of her at the table. Followed closely by his brothers, who grunted something that could be called a greeting.

"Morning…" She answered them.

"'Mione had almost no sleep tonight. She is quite grumpy." Ginny sat by her side, smiling at her.

"I'm not…"

"I believe you never saw Hermione truly grumpy, Gin." Harry sat by his girlfriend side.

"That's quite true!" Ron intervened. The redheads laughed at the younger boy's face as he mimicked his friend in a bad humor. Hermione was about to snap at the boy when Fleur sat by her side, followed closely by Luna.

"What's so funny?" The veela asked, smiling at Hermione.

"We were just talking about how 'Mione is grumpy today." Ron explained, making the said girl want to vanish from the world.

"Oh, she looks fine to me." Luna said, smiling.

"Bonjour, Weasleys. 'arry. 'ermione!" Fleur smiled widely at them.

"Bonjour" Hermione answered, not noticing the fact that she had spoken in the other girl's native language. As the others only nodded at the older woman. When she realized that she had spoken in French, she bushed. Making Fleur's grin grow wider, as Bill noticed.

A couple of hours later, she found herself saying goodbye to her friends and flooing to the Ministry of Magic, from where she and Bill would floo to Australia.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Please note that, as I said in my profile, English is NOT my first language. Therefore, there will be some grammar errors. Anyway, hope you did like this chapter. Please, review! Thanks!


	5. Chapter 4

"Uh… Bill?" Hermione froze mid step.

"Yeah?" He was walking in front of her.

"What exactly am I going to say when we get there? I don't believe they would let us in without an explanation."

"Oh, the minister instructed me to say we are Government Officials. It won't be so hard." He smiled reassuringly.

"Ok." They got into a rented car. Hermione drove, being a muggle-born had its silver linings. Bill sat by her side, looking nervous. "Relax. I have license and… Oh, it's your first time on a normal car, right?" He nodded. His face got a green shade as she started driving, making her chuckle. "I guess it's the same feeling I had the first time I used a broom. You get used to it…" To distract him, she turned on the radio. She noticed it did make him stop worrying about the car but made him stare at the radio in awe. "For God's sake, Bill! Your father is a muggle enthusiast, you should be familiar with those by now!" He shrugged.

"I guess I never payed so much attention to those. But that is simply genius!"

"I can't believe I forgot how much simply listening to music is relaxing."

"We were at war Hermione. It is comprehensible. And you were hiding for the past eight months, saving my brother and Harry's asses!" With that they stopped talking, enjoying the music.

They had arrived in Australia an hour ago, met the minister who profusely thanked both for saving the whole world. The ministry headquarters was in a different state from where they were heading so it was arranged for them to floo to a wizard house nearby Hermione parents' home. It was a fifteen-minute car trip, soon they were in front of the house, the girl was deeply breathing trying to calm down.

"It's going to be ok, Hermione. You know it is. They will understand everything." Bill placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Ok, let's go." That was it. She was actually trying to convince herself that she shouldn't cry when she saw them, the girl missed them so much it hurt.

They knocked. A moment later her mother answered the door, completely oblivious that her daughter was standing right in front of her.

"Yes? How can I help you?"

"Good morning, Mrs. Granger. My name is Bill Weasley and this is my partner, Hermione Delacour." The girl felt her heart flutter by the mention of the veela surname. "We are here in the name of the UK government to interview you. I believe you received a call from our superiors." Bill smiled, trying to make himself believable. The woman smiled at them and let them in.

"Hermione, uh?" the brunette could only nod. She lost her voice as soon as she heard the woman's voice. "Beautiful name. Means messenger and derives from the Greek god Hermes. If I had a daughter that's how I would name her. Hermione, Hermione Granger." With a deep breath, the girl managed to keep herself from crying. She smiled to the woman and quietly said thank you.

"Who was it, darling?" A men's voice sounded from another room.

"The government officials." She smiled when the man found his way to her side and shook hands with the newcomers.

"Oh, right! Please take a seat. Would you like some tea?" The man motioned the armchairs and left to where if seemed to be the kitchen when both accepted the offering. He came back with four cups and a teapot in a tray and sat by his wife's side after serving them all. Bill and Hermione had made sure to have their wands in hand when they sat down. Looking at the redhead, the wise girl saw him perform a relaxing spell wordlessly. The couple in front of them visibly relaxed and smiled at them. They put down their cups just as Hermione and Bill had just done.

With a slight nod, both wizards begun the spell. Actually there were a series of intricate spells, the first made the receivers fall asleep. Smiling, Hermione finished the spell, waking them up. The older couple opened their eyes and looked around them, confused. The woman was the first to be fully awake and looked at her daughter slightly confused.

"Hermione Jean Granger! You better explain us why we thought you didn't exist for more than eight months! And who the hell is this Delacour person you apparently married?" Hermione flinches at her full name mention and sat down again.

"Uh, I think I should go. Hermione, I will be at the Jones' house, ok? When you are ready, meet me there." She nodded, wanting him to stay but she knew it was something she had to do by herself. He gave her a reassuring smile. "Pleasure to meet you." He said to her parents and disapparated.

"I think I will never get used to it." Her father said, referring to the redheads vanishing.

"Well?"

"Uhm, first I want to apologize, I know I shouldn't have done that with you." With one deep breath, Hermione looked to her parents, apologetically but determined. "Since my fourth year the wizarding world has been at war. One of the worst dark wizards returned to full forces, Voldemort. He attacked Harry after the last Triwizard Tournament task, and regained his forces, which he lost the night he tried to kill Harry and left him an orphan. I didn't tell you that because I believed that if you knew it, you would take me out of Hogwarts."

"Of course!" Mrs. Granger squealed.

"Well, this war remained covered until Dumbledore died. He was the only person that could bring fear to Voldemort. After that, he took over the Ministry of magic and begun persecuting anyone that opposed him. And that meant most of the people I know in the magical world. Harry was the number one enemy for him and so were his friends, meaning me and Ron. After I left home to the Burrow, they attacked us there even though it might have been the most guarded house in UK." Hermione looked away at this point, not standing to look at the horror expressions her parents had. "I managed to flee from there, with Harry and Ronald. I had a plan, you see? After spending so many years getting into trouble thanks to them I knew I had to be ready to anything. The minute I took Harry from the burrow I knew I was too public enemy, and I knew I had to protect you. So, I went home the same night and…" She was in a loss of words. How would she say it?

"Erased you from our minds and induced us to come to Australia." Her mother's eyes were full of tears.

"I'm sorry!" Hermione felt like a kid again, asking for forgiveness for breaking something. She soon felt her mother's embrace, soothing her. Only then she realized she was crying.

"It's ok. As long as you promise that you won't keep us from your like again." The older woman said. Hermione saw herself nodding. When she felt like she could breathe again, she continued.

"The three of us were hiding for about eight months, doing what we could to come up with something to defeat Voldemort. A week ago, we came to an agreement. We needed to get into Hogwarts." She explained to them what transpired on the final battle. Carefully excluding the part that Harry had been killed, she was aware that they would freak out. "While we were hiding, professor McGonagall went home to protect you two and discovered that you weren't there anymore. When she got the news of what I had done, she begun looking for you and to research the counter spell for the Obliviate one. And here we are. I left Hogwarts as soon as I could."

"My daughter is a war hero!" Mr. Granger exclaimed, proudly.

"So, I guess the man that was here, Bill Weasley, came to help you with the counter spell?" Hermione nodded. "And that when he introduced you as Hermione Delacour, he just said the first name that came into his mind as he couldn't say Granger?" The younger girl felt her face turn scarlet.

"I guess." She mumbled.

"Oh, so Delacour is a real person?" Her mother smiled as she nodded, slowly.

"She is a friend." Trying to fool her mother.

"I'll leave it be. But if it is important, I want you to talk to us. If not you father, then me only…"

"Mom!"

"Well now, when will we be able to know everyone? I guess that seven years without knowing them is kind of too much." Her father said, smiling at his daughter and wife.

"We can go today, headmistress McGonagall made some adjustments on the school's protections so that muggle parents could go there."

"Perfect!" Her mother smiled. "I guess we should pack."

"Uh, no need." Hermione smiled, embarrassed. "The Minister insisted on having a group of wizards to move you back home. If that's what you want, of course."

"Well, of course we want! I was actually growing bored here in Australia." Her father smiled at her.

When both of her parents were ready, they went to the house Bill referred to. It was the one they got there. It didn't take long for them to be in the Australian Ministry, preparing to enter the fireplace again and floo back to UK.

"Miss Granger!" She heard someone call her. In less than a second she had her wand in hand, a war habit. As was Bill, both protecting her parents. "Oh, I'm sorry. I must have startled you. I'm deeply sorry!" The man in front of them was the Australian Minister.

"We are sorry, sir. War habit." She said apologetically.

"I can see why you are a war hero!" He said, smiling. "I was wandering if you could sign these photos. My niece was actually born in England you see? She was in Hogwarts last year but her parents decided to come live here because of the war. Apparently, you helped her while there and she really admires you! When she heard you was on the battle and that you helped saving so many lives she was thrilled. I wanted to make a surprise to her, since I couldn't tell her that I would meet you…" Hermione's face was completely scarlet. She never imagined that happening.

"Is she in school?" She asked, not being able to actually answer him.

"Oh, yes. She's a third year now. She might actually be coming back home today…" He answered.

Hermione looked at her parents and Bill asking a silent question. They only nodded. "Well, I would like very much to meet her. What time you think she will be back?"

The man smiled and looked at his watch. "She might be home by now… I could fletch her there and bring her, so she can meet you"

"That would be wonderful!"

When the man got back with the girl, Hermione noticed that she kind of remembered herself when younger. The girl was carefully carrying a rather big book, and smiled widely. When she asked if Hermione could sign the book, the wise girl smiled at its title.

"I guess I'm not the only one that reads 'Hogwarts: A History'…" She whispered to herself, signing the copy. She handled the girl the book. "I have to go now, Amelie. It was a pleasure to meet you." She smiled to the girl. "Thank you for everything, Minister." She helped her parents to get into a fireplace, explained once more what they had to say and entered one, holding the floo powder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello!
> 
> So, I guess I'm gonna post about 2 chapters per week after all! I'm kind of anxious to know your opinion! Well Thank you for reading! Hope you like this chapter!  
> Please comment!
> 
> Thanks!


	6. Chapter 5

Fleur had been waiting for them to come back the minute they went to the headmistress office. She decided that it was better to try to distract herself with a book or something and went to her dorm, it was on the Ravenclaw's Tower. She had chosen to sleep there, thinking it wouldn't be too obvious she was actually head over heels for the Wise Girl. Choosing a book from the bookcase of the common room she made herself comfortable on an armchair by the window, it had become her favorite seat in the room.

"Oh. Hi, Fleur!" Luna entered the common room, skipping, and stopped in front of her a few hours later. "How are you? I forgot to thank you for the help before, fighting those death eaters…" Fleur smiled, that girl intrigued her. "Oh, you have an Wrackspurts infestation…" the veela was confused again, it was the second time the girl talked about those creatures. "Quick, think about Hermione!" She quickly added, making Fleur even more confused.

"Sorry, but…"

"To get rid of Wrackspurts you must think about something that makes you happy. You see? It worked!" The younger blonde smiled.

"But why would you tell me to zink about 'ermione?" She said, trying not to blush.

"Well, she is your mate. I believe she would be a happy thought for you…"

"What? 'ow did you know? Oh, I'm going to kill zat freaking Weasley!" Fleur went pale when Luna said mate and promptly stood.

"Bill? He has nothing to do with me knowing. You see, I tend to observe a lot everyone around me. So I tend to see some things before others…" Luna smiled to Fleur as the latter sat back down. "And the way you look at her…"

"But 'ow do you know about veela mating?"

"Oh, I love learning about magical creatures so when you came here the first time, I was intrigued and read about your heritage."

"Oh… Luna, can you please not talk about zis with anyone? I 'ave to figure out what I'll say to 'er."

"Sure, Fleur." The girl smiled. Fleur watched as Luna fumbled her clothes, looking for something. She held a galleon on her hands. "Ah! She is back!"

"Pardon? 'ow do you know?" Fleur suddenly was nervous.

"The headmistress has one of these" The girl showed her an altered galleon. "It's a DA galleon. Professor McGonagall promised to warn us when Hermione got back. She's bringing her parents here before taking them back home. Hermione invented those so she could let us know when we had a meeting."

The veela was proud, her mate was indeed wise. Her's, that's how she liked to think of the girl but it wasn't really the truth. Fleur talked to her mother on the prior day, telling her about Hermione. The woman was pleased to know that her oldest daughter had such luck, it was known in the veela community that finding a mate was really rare.

"I'm going back down to the Great Hall. Are you coming?" Luna's voice made her come back to reality, she nodded and began following the younger girl. "I wonder why Hermione picked up so many books on veelas last night. I never saw her demonstrating so much interest in magical creatures before…" And again, Fleur's mind wandered to the brunette. Why was she doing such research? The blonde noticed that she had to read more about her own heritage, she didn't know much about the mating process. "Fleur? Are you coming?" The other girl asked from the Great Hall's entrance. Out of her trance she noticed she had stopped at the last step of the stair case.

"Oui!" She said, fumbling to go after her and enter the hall.

When she stepped in the room, her laughter was the first thing she heard. Inadvertently, she smiled and looked for her. When she found her, the brunette was already looking at her but quickly adverted her gaze. Fleur walked to her, slowly, taking in every trace of her face as if she wouldn't see her again. Hermione's mother didn't miss the way the blonde stared at her daughter. Fleur didn't notice, but the woman greeted her with a crooked brow.

"'ello 'emione! 'ad a good travel back?" Fleur couldn't stop smiling.

"Oh, hi Fleur!" Her smile distracted her. "Mom, Dad, that's Fleur, she is the one I said that helped me with the reversing spell."

"Pleasure to meet you!" Fleur said, snapping out of her trance before it was obvious.

"Equally. Thank you so much!" The older woman promptly greeted her.

* * *

"Miss Delacour! I was looking for you. Good you two are here" Professor McGonagall approached them. Hermione startled as she had been lost in her own thoughts while her parents talked to Fleur.

"Oh, she is the Delacour person…" Her mother said under her breath in a way that only her could listen. She looked at the professor and tried to keep herself from blushing.

"Oui, 'eadmistress."

"The Minister has requested reports on the battle, since you and miss Granger here fought mostly together, I believe you could work on those." McGonagall smiled at them, Hermione grew nervous at the thought of spending more time with the blonde. "And, Fleur, he is considering you to work with him and the Auror Division dismantling the protections on some of the death eaters' manors."

"Yes, ma'am." They both said to the older witch. "I'll wait for him to get in touch." Fleur said.

"Good. Now, it is late for you to get back home today, miss Granger. I'd be happy to provide your parents a place to stay in the castle. I believe a professor's chamber will do." She smiled and looked at her parents, who nodded.

"Thank you, professor."

"So, how do you manage to keep so many information inside that little box you call computers? And how do you make those moving photos you call movies without magic?" Mr Weasley appeared from somewhere near the redhead gathering. He had gotten away from his wife, who was trying to keep him from asking her parents so many questions about the muggle world. They smiled at the redheaded man and began explaining as much as they could to him. Soon, both girls were left alone.

"Uh, when will you be able to meet me and discuss the report?" Hermione nervously asked the other girl.

"Anytime! I was planning on visiting maman soon, and I believe zee minister won't zink badly of you eef you want to spend some time with your parents before zinking about zee war." The french smiled at her.

"Oh, I guess I could use some time with them." She said, looking at them, the two people that she missed the most on the past eight months.

"I'll ask zee 'eadmistress when zee reports are duo." the blonde walked away and Hermione caught herself wishing that they would have to work together for a long time. It wasn't long when she got back, smiling. "We 'ave until zee end of zee year to deliver zee 'ole file, with zee reports from everyone zat fought 'ere. And apparently zee minister wants a report from zee Golden Trio about your days 'iding and all."

"How much time were you planning on staying on France? We could meet after you get back…" Hermione asked her, hoping it wouldn't take long.

"Oh, about a week but maman could make me stay a little longer. Sure." Fleur smiler at her. "I can send you an owl saying when I'm going to be back and zen we can set a date."

"Sure…"

Hermione knew her parents would want to go back home early the following day and as soon as dinner finished, she went to her dorm to sleep. This time she found a way to sleep since she wasn't concerned about her parents and apparently, Fleur was willing to spend some time with her. The next morning Hermione woke before Ginny. Not that it was unusual at all, the redhead shared the habit of sleeping until late in the morning with Ron. She was used to it, having been friends with the girl for five years now.

The first thing that she thought that morning had been Fleur and that made her furrow her brows. Why the heck was she thinking so much about her? A thought crossed her mind but she dismissed it, she didn't believe in love in the first sight and she had seen her before the battle. What could possibly have changed? She needed someone to talk to and the sleeping redhead in the next bed wouldn't do. The girl hated Fleur. Not that Hermione could really understand her.

She smiled, thinking about the blonde.

"Oh Merlin, what's happening to me?" She never had been like that about anyone. None of the scarce boys she had kissed and certainly no girls. She needed sometime alone to think and analyze it, that's how her mind worked. It was a good thing she would spend a week with her parents, in a muggle environment. She got out of her bed and changed. Her eyes lingered at the words written on her forearm, the scar still ached a little, what a war mark. She hated that name but simply looking at it now made her feel stronger.

She heard her friend shuffle on her bed and she stood there, looking at her arm. No one, except for Harry, Ron, Luna and, of course, Dobby, had seen it. She quickly masked it with a wave of her wand. She was getting better with wordless magic. Ginny opened her bed curtains, sleepily.

"Good morning, 'Mione…"

"Morning, Ginny! I'm heading down to the Great hall for breakfast…" She smiled at the girl.

"Ok. I'm going. I think mom wants to leave today too. Thankfully all the Order meetings are over. I desperately need my bed." A grumpy Ginny begun to dress herself. "Hey, what's with you and Phlegm? She seems to be around you all the time." The girl was facing her trunk and missed the way Hermione blushed.

"Uh, nothing. It's your imagination, Gin." Was Fleur really near her all the time? "I just remembered I promised that I would show my mother the library before breakfast. See you at the Great hall?"

"Yeah…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeey! So, I always thought that because Luna is so underrated she was capable of seeing things most people don’t. Just love her! What did you think? Please let me know!  
> And thank for reading and for the comments! (Hope you liked this one, I had fun writing Fleur/Luna interaction)


	7. Chapter 6

Fleur spent the night trying to figure out how she would deliver the book she had in front of her to Hermione. Before leaving the day before with the brunette, Bill told her that he saw her reading about veelas. Fleur took some time, after they were gone, researching the books about her heritage available in the library and came to the conclusion that those had almost any useful information. She wondered how Luna managed to know so much about veelas. When asked, Luna explained that she had actually brought some books. With that in thought and knowing that Hermione wouldn't comeback in a while, she asked her mother to send her one of the most complete book she knew about her heritage. Apolline managed to make it be delivered to her by one of the Delacour's house-elves along with a portkey to France.

The veela had decided that she would ask Luna to give the book to Hermione. She was too nervous. So, she managed to write a small letter to the wise girl and asked Luna to give it to her. Both were up before the first light. As soon as she handled the book to the other blonde, Fleur activated the portkey and headed to France.

* * *

When Hermione entered the Great Hall, it was empty, except for one girl. Luna. That was a strange thing, Fleur usually was also awake this early.

"Good morning, Lun…" During the time they spent together after the Malfoys incident Hermione began to really consider her a friend. The girl always intrigued her but she grew found of her talking about all those magical creatures so passionately.

"Morning, 'Mione!" Only when she got closer to the blonde girl she noticed the book in front of her. At first you thought it was Hogwarts: a History, you knew she had it as one of her favorite too, but then you realized that its binding was different. She noticed your curiosity. "Oh, right! Fleur asked me to give it to you. She had to leave earlier than she thought."

Hermione admired the book and noticed a parchment inside it. "Oh, she left already?" Her heart seemed to sink a little.

"Yup, earlier this morning." Luna said, with a smirk that Hermione didn't understand.

She opened the book and first of all read the parchment covered with a handwriting that she could only guess as being Fleur's.

_Dear Hermione,_

I'm sorry I couldn't deliver this book personally to you. Mother and Gabrielle asked me to go as soon as possible, we have something to attend. Before you left with Bill yesterday, he told me that you were reading about my heritage. Judging from the titles he told me, Hogwarts library doesn't have the best collection about Veelas. And I remembered Harry once telling me that one of your favorite books is Hogwarts: A History. You could consider this present book the Veelas: a history, if you allow me the joke. This is the most complete book I know about Veelas. I hope you enjoy it,

Fleur.

Hermione felt her face grow hot. She opened the book once again, reading its title: History and Cultural Context of the Veela Society, by M. Delacour. Her eyes widened when she read the author's name, they were in some way related to her.

"Hey, 'Mione!" Harry entered the hall and walked to them. It was still really early and apparently, her friend decided that he too should wake earlier than usual. The DA members had already gone home, except for the ones whose parents were Order members and those already off age like Harry and herself. "Hogwarts: a History?" He said, noticing the book in her hands.

"Fleur lent me this. It's about veelas and apparently is the next best thing to Hogwarts a history on veelas. Because someone told her I deeply like this kind of book…" She glared him.

"Sorry…" He shrugged. "Where's Gin?"

"She should be here already. Must have slept again. She told me she would come soon." Hermione smiled, she knew her friend had madly missed her. "Oh, she seems to think that Fleur is stalking me…"

"Well you have indeed been orbiting each other these days…" Harry said with a smirk.

"What? She helped me with the spell…"

"Hermione, the number of Wrackspurts around is surprisingly high…" Luna looked at her dreamingly.

"Oh, come on, you two!"

"Ok, Hermione. I'm going to ask you something and I really want you to think about it before you answer me." Harry sat in front of her. "I'll ask you now that Ginny isn't here and I believe Luna won't say anything about that conversation." Luna smiled and sat on the table so she could watch both of them easily.

"Of course." the blonde answered. Hermione sat straight and motioned him to continue.

"I ask you that because I know you enough to understand that you might be missing something here." She nodded. "The question is: what do you feel about Fleur?"

Hermione froze, looking directly into Harry's eyes. Her eyes went wide.

"I… I don't know."

"Right, I believe you need to think about it." He said.

"I was planning on doing it before I meet her in a week." Harry crooked a brow.

"You have plans to meet her?"

"Yes, the minister requested us to assemble the war reports." She said, innocently.

"Us who?" Ginny slowly entered the hall and sat beside harry, kissing his cheek and making him blush.

"Fleur." She answered, ready to see her friend's frown.

"Oh, right. I think you mentioned it." She said and put her head on Harry's shoulder.

They stayed in a comfortable silence. Soon the rest of their families came down to have breakfast. Luna and Bill were beside her, Ginny, Harry and Ron were in front of her, the twins were nowhere to be seen. Her parents were deep in conversation with the older Order members.

"Harry, where are you going to stay?" Hermione asked. She was curious, knowing that he wouldn't stay at the Grimmauld Place.

"I'm thinking of buying or renting an apartment in muggle London. Probably near the Diagon Alley." He smiled. "But Gin here is actually trying to persuade me on coming back and finish school."

"That would be wonderful!" She smiled but frowned right afterwards. "As long as you don't copy my work anymore!" Everyone near her chuckled, except for Harry who only stared at his own fingers.

"Sorry, 'Mione! I didn't think of it…" Gin grinned at her friend.

"It's ok. He is copying you this year." She laughed when her friend grimaced. "Anyway, Harry, I was thinking of doing something similar after finishing here."

"Oh, we should look around sometime." She nodded.

After some time, they all said good bye and went home. Harry would stay at the Burrow while he hadn't decided what to do and she promised Mrs. Weasley that she would pass by there with her parents soon.

Hermione entered the house she had grown up and felt like crying. The last time she had been in there, she didn't know if she would be able to see her parents again. She didn't even know if she would survive. Feeling her distress, her parents hugged her. And she returned the embrace dearly. The family fell into a routine, every day they would have breakfast together, got outside to walk on the park nearby, had lunch and spent the afternoon inside, reading. Hermione had inherited her parents interest in learning and reading. And now more than ever they were interested in learning everything they could about the world she found herself in.

Within two days, she received a call from Harry. Asking her if she wanted to go to London the next day and have a look on the available apartments which she happily complied. They met at the Leaky Caldron early the next morning and begun their search. When they paused for lunch, they had seen three apartments which none of them they liked.

"Maybe we should look if there are any available at the Diagon Alley. I'm starting to doubt we'll be able to find one around here." Harry said, frustrated.

"Let's see some more before giving up. If we had given up so easily when we were searching for the horcruxes, he would still be here and we, long dead." She argued.

"You are right, as always." he smiled at her. "And what about the question I asked you?"

"Oh, I haven't thought about it yet…" Her voice low, she was a little ashamed that she was trying to forget that problem.

"Hermione…"

"I know! I need to know. I was just… trying to ignore my absolute confusion."

"Well, I'll cut you some slack by now. But you really should think about it. Changing the subject. I want to ask you something that actually I should have earlier. I consider you my sister, you see?" She nodded. "I have been wondering, since you said you are planning on moving to London after school, would you like to share the apartment with me? I mean, if you want, obviously…"

"That would be lovely, Harry! I consider you a brother too!" She said before he could start rambling.

They spent the rest of the day searching for the perfect apartment. Their last hope for the day was a duplex near the Leaky Caldron. If they wanted, they would be able to go there walking. The moment Hermione stepped into the flat she felt immediately like it could be her home. She looked at Harry, and smiled. He was obviously in awe. The first floor had an open concept, it had a modern design. The second floor had three rooms, all of them were suites.

"Hermione…"

"Oh My Gods, Harry! It's perfect!"

"I couldn't agree more!" He grinned at her. "I'll contact the seller today, if you agree."

"Harry, how am I going to pay for it?"

"That's another thing I needed to talk to you. Yesterday I went to Gringotts, as the last Black, Sirius left a will. He left me half of the Black's properties and vaults, reinstated Andromeda to the family leaving her a quarter of the vaults and properties and the last quarter has been left for you and Ron." He said, smiling. "And he wrote a letter for you." He handed her an envelope. She was crying.

"Sirius…" she whispered, ripping the envelope and unfolding the parchment.

Hermione,

I'm going to risk saying something you heard your entire life. You are one of the most intelligent people I ever had the pleasure to know. Unfortunately, if you are reading this letter, it means I passed while we are at war. I hope you managed to keep my inconsequent godson alive (because both of us know you are the only reason he is in one peace) and that by the time you read it, our world is finally in peace. I know you must be thinking that you don't deserve what I'm leaving you, but you do and I'm have absolute certain that Harry will be pleased to tell you the same. As the head of Black house, I have certain powers that allow me to include someone in the family. I would be honored to have you in the family, if you want to. I left instructions so that you can be admitted in the Black house. Thank you for saving my life and for trusting me.

With love,

Sirius.

Hermione was openly crying now. Harry hugged her and kissed her forehead.

"Harry, he…" She began, sobbing.

"I know, 'Mione. I know."

"I mean, a Black?"

Harry smiled, "Oh, yes. The goblins confirmed that he can do it. You would be fully a Black. I have become one you know? As Sirius's main heir, I am now head of the house. As I already was of the Potter. You would officially be my sister!" Hermione grinned.

After she calmed herself down enough, they got out of the house. Immediately Harry went to a telephone booth and called the owner.

"All set. We have a flat!" He said, stepping out of the booth, beaming at her.

"Hey, I believe that means you aren't going to Hogwarts this last year…" She began, while they walked to the Leaky Caldron.

"No, actually I am going. Your ginger friend is quite persuasive." He smiled. "I suppose I'll need your notes to study." She nudged him. "Ouch! I just need to revise everything. I'm taking it seriously this year."

"Yeah, the only way I'll believe it is seeing." They reached the bar, had a butterbeer to celebrate their new acquisition and parted ways.

Hermione apparated in her room, at her parents' house.

"I'm home!" She said, opening her door.

"Great! Just in time for dinner!" Her mother said from downstairs.

She changed into something comfier and went to the kitchen to see if her mother needed some help. Hermione didn't discuss with them going back to Hogwarts nor moving out. She decided she should do it. After dinner, they began telling each other their days. It was her parents first day back at clinic, they had a lot of news and apparently, they had a busy schedule ahead.

"Uh…" She said, "I have been wanting to tell you something…" They were at the living room, she was in an armchair facing them. Her parents motioned for her to continue. "Obviously, I missed last school year. I talked to professor McGonagall and she allowed me to go back next year."

"We guessed you would want to do so…" Her mother smiled at her.

"There is another thing." She starred at her hands. "I have been thinking about moving out."

"Oh, when?" The woman in front of her didn't hold back the sadness, it was clear in her eyes.

"After coming back from school. I have a job offer from the minister to work in London… And he actually has offered me an internship in a way, if I say yes, I'd get to work at the ministry until I get back to Hogwarts."

"That's wonderful, darling!" His father said, his wife nodding.

"I met Harry today to help him finding an apartment. He ended up asking me if I'd like to share a flat with him, as we consider each other siblings and we were both considering living in London." She smiled at her mother, starting to cry herself. Realizing that a year from now she wouldn't be leaving there anymore. "At the end of the day we found the perfect one. He is negotiating with the owner…"

"Oh, my little girl is all grown up!" Her mother said, wiping her eyes. Hermione stood and sat between her parents, whom hugged her dearly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: And there goes another chapter! I confess I almost forgot to post today. Anyway, I hope you are enjoying the story!
> 
> Please comment!
> 
> Stay safe,
> 
> Thanks for reading!


	8. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You may notice most of Fleur's lines are written in unaccented english, that's because she is speaking in french, dears. Given I basically have no capacity to write in french unless I use google translator. Hope you like this one!

She had been in France for four days and Gabrielle was yet to let her be with the teasing about finding her mate in the middle of a battle. Better yet, her mate was only one of the keys that led them to winning.

"Hé Granger Girl!"(Hey, Granger Girl!) The younger had just found a way to tease her some more, great. "So, I was thinking, we should go out so you can buy Hermione something…"

"I'd love to, but she's not my girlfriend and why would I buy her something being that the case?"

"I don't know. You could buy your friends there something and give her whatever you want…"

"Gabe, I'm not even sure I could be considered her friends."

"You said you had to go back so you can meet her!"

"Yeah, the part that we will be writing official reports should cross your mind!" She rolled her eyes.

Fleur indeed wanted to buy Hermione something but she was positive the girl wouldn't accept an out of nowhere gift. She wasn't even sure she would accept the book. A few hours later, Fleur decided to read a muggle novel that Harry said he liked. She was currently cozily sat on the armchair she had on her bedroom. The day she arrived there, she moved some of the room's furniture around and ended up placing that specific armchair by the window. She was now so used to the British cold weather that she magically changed her room's thermostat. The woman had a blanket wrapped around her and was so caught up on the book that she didn't hear the faint knock on her door, nor the sound of the door opening.

"Oh, my Merlin! It's freezing here!" Gabrielle whined, getting Fleur's attention.

"Good, then stay clear." She smiled at her sister, as the other girl drew her want out and performed a warming spell.

"Better. Fleur, mom is looking for you."

"Ok. Going."

Fleur decided that she loved being back at her childhood house, she didn't need to worry about anything work related or house related. There she was simply Appoline's daughter. Thinking about work made her remember she had yet to answer the Minister about the work proposal she had officially received the day she had gotten there. She made a mental note to do that as soon as she discovered what her mother needed. The girl didn't need to ask her sister to know where to find her mother, the manor they lived was huge, but her mother had a favorite spot. The garden. To more exact, the greenhouse, taking care of her beloved flowers. Yes, that was the reason for her name.

"Were you looking for me, mom?"

"Yes, I have been meaning to ask you, how do you plan on acting about your mate?"

That was what she feared, her mother asking her about Hermione.

"I don't know. I'm not sure about what she feels about me by now."

"You are her mate, Fleur." Her mother sent her a scolding look.

"Yes, but I'm well aware that not all veela's mates are able to correspond the bounding we hold to them." She breathed out, heavily. She hoped that it wasn't the case.

"I'll accept your answer by now. But have in mind that we will return to that conversation later."

"Yes, maman."

Fleur got back to her room and reread the minister letter, letting every inch of the proposal sink in. He wanted her to be the head of the anti-dark magic task he was forming. Apparently with the Voldemort's death and of some of his followers unleashed some spells around the country. Of course she would accept. Bill was supposed to work with her too, the goblins wouldn't be very happy about it. She wrote down two different letters, one to the minister and another explaining to the bank's administration why she would leave her post there. She then called a house elf and asked them to send the letters. She soon found herself in the same position she was before Gabrielle interrupt her.

The next day, Fleur actually begun to find herself bored in the house and consequently started computing the hours she had there before heading back to London. She then remembered that she had yet to contact Hermione and let her know she would return in two days, as she guessed.

> Hermione,
> 
> I'm heading back to London in a couple of days, as I told you the last time we spoke. I suggest we meet so we can plan how we are going to work. The minister has indeed requested me to lead a new task he is forming. Apparently, I'm now a ministry employee. I hope you are enjoying the book, assuming Luna handled it to you. How's your vacation going?
> 
> Hope you are ok,
> 
> Fleur

She then went to the owlery and found her own owl. After petting it and giving her some snacks, she secured the letter on its leg.

"Wait a little so she can answer if she wants to, Yuna"

She then got back to her book. The next day, by noon she was greeted with two letters. One from the bank, saying they were sorry for loosing such a good employee but happy that she would had a wonderful career at the ministry. The other was from Hermione. Apparently Yuna had noticed her anxiety about the response.

> Dear Fleur,
> 
> I'm having a wonderful time reconnecting with my parents! I'm happy to know you will be working with the minister, you are a genius witch and I'm sure he will love your work. Yes, Luna gave me the book. Thank you so much, reading it was very enlightening. The minister offered me an internship while Hogwarts doesn't start again maybe we will ran into each other there. I'll wait your contact so we can arrange that meeting.
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Hermione

She smiled. One more thing to wait for. Less than 24 hours to London.

Fleur woke up the next morning fairly early. Within an hour, she was having her last meal with her parents and sister.

"Dad, Hermione loved the book. Thanks for giving her a copy!"

"Oh? She already finished?" He seemed impressed. "I guess we just found out why she is being called the brains of the Golden Trio!"

"Yeah. But I bet that makes Fleur be even more head over heels for her…" Gabrielle said, smirking. The rest of the meal was spent with Fleur blushing at every comment and tease made by her sister and father, her mother only observed them. When that was time to go, Fleur bade them farewell and port keyed herself to her flat in London.

Feeling nauseous, she went to the kitchen to get nice glass of water. She breathed in deeply to subdue the nausea, she loved London. Sure, she kind of hated Britain the first time she went there but it changed. It was so long ago that she couldn't put a finger on what made her change her mind. Leaning on the kitchen counter, she took a moment to think about how her life had changed since she went to the Triwizard Tournament. For once she didn't have a mate, she didn't know who they were actually. She was quite spoiled and arrogant, the last being a facade so she wouldn't have to endure the boring conversations her schoolmates had all day long. So much had changed… She suddenly remembered she had to owl Bill and let him know she had arrived and she could send a note to Hermione too, couldn't she? She decided to send the note the following day so she wouldn't seem so eager to meet her. After writing a quick note to her friend, she begun unpacking and cleaning the house. She lived at muggle London, anyone would have guessed the girl would prefer a wizarding neighborhood but she loved being surrounded by people that didn't even know what a veela was nor that they existed. She decided that she should have lunch sometime in the middle of the afternoon so she ordered takeover. She had a telephone, something she thought was a wonderful invention. At least for people that didn't have floo. After eating she sat in her couch and begun some random book she had bought in a muggle bookstore in France, the store attendant said it was a good one and was surprised when she said she had never read it.

She lost track of time. She looked through the window and the sky was silky black, it was late. Her owl flew into the window and landed on her knee, showing off her leg. The letter was obviously from Bill.

> Hi Fleur,
> 
> Good to know you are back. I'm yet to come back home from the Burrow, mom won't let me leave. You already know how she is. This week was quite intense and I had to explain why we aren't dating anymore. I might have said we broke up months ago and that we saw we were better as friends, which is true. Mom won't believe me and keeps asking me what I did wrong, believe me she is quite sad you aren't in the family anymore. When I said it to her she said it wasn't true and that you would always be family to her. Oh, she invited the Granger for dinner tomorrow and I guess she would be delighted if you came too. Anyway, I heard Hermione will be working at the ministry while she is on vacation. So, I guess I'll have to control your drool over her every day.
> 
> See you tomorrow,
> 
> Bill
> 
> P.S.: Mom says you should really come.
> 
> P.P.S.: Harry sends his love. My sister is starring at him. I believe she wants to kill him for sending you anything.

She conjured a patronus quickly, and sent it to accept Bill's offer. Yuna eyed her outraged.

"What? You must be tired and I needed to confirm my presence."

The owl flew form her knee and went for some snacks. Now Fleur was a little anxious. The book she gifted the brunette was something only a few people had access or were interested. It gave away many of the veela supposedly secrets, a lot of information about the mating process. What if the other girl figured it out? She knew she was overreacting, there was no way she could know. She was going crazy and wasn't used at all with all that overthinking.

"Merde!" She got up from the couch and decided to make some tea, hoping it would make her nerves calm down so she would be able to sleep and not be a total wreck the next day.

Fleur woke up the next day with a loud noise coming from her kitchen. She quickly found a robe and her wand and got there cautiously. She was greeted with a ginger man making pancakes singing quietly.

"Bill?"

"Oh, I woke you up. Sorry, I dropped the pan."

"I almost 'exed you! Are you crazy? What are you doing 'ere?"

"Sorry! I figured you would be anxious about meeting Hermione and her parents again. So, I convinced my mother that I had to come fletch you. We have time to have breakfast and for you to get dressed. Mom wants us there for lunch." He smiled.

"I'll get ready zen. Don't you ever do zat again. You scared ze shit out of me!" She said with a sigh.

"Sorry, sorry…"

Soon the meal was ready and she too, having packed a change of clothes. They left right after they did the dishes. Actually, right after Fleur wrote a note and sent Yuna to deliver it.

"Who was that for?" Bill asked as they apparated outside the Burrow.

"'ermione."

"Oh…" He smiled.

"I told 'er I would let 'er know when I got back."

"And did you tell her…"

"No." The blonde broke him off bluntly.

"I see, you want to surprise her." He smirked. "You are really nervous about meeting her again…" She nodded, hoping he would drop the subject. He went quiet as they entered the house. She was immediately greeted by Molly.

"Fleur! Welcome darling! Make yourself home! Bill, Arthur is trying to set up the tent with the boys, would you mind?" Her friend nodded and was out of the house again. "How are you, Fleur? I heard you and Bill broke up, I hope you are alright!"

"Yes, Molly. We decided we were better off as friends, no 'ard feelings. I 'ave been great, actually…" She sat by the table as the woman had motioned her, nodding at her answer.

"Tea?"

"Oui. 'ow are you, Molly? I 'aven't really talked to you since before zat awful battle."

"Things are great. I love having the house full, having all the kids here." Molly served two cups of tea and sat next to her.

"Mom! Where are the twins?" The younger Weasley bursted into the room, only noticing Fleur there a moment after. "Oh, hi." She said, frowning.

"They are outside helping you father, I believe."

"I am so going to kill them!"

"What did they do this time?" But she was already outside.

"WHAT THE HECK DO YOU THINK YOU WERE DOING?" Fleur could hear her screaming. "CAME BACK HERE, YOU… UGH"

In no time, Fred and George ran into the kitchen, laughing. Apparently, they had planned on running out of the room and inside the house. But both faced an invisible barrier, conjured by their mother.

"What have you two done?"

"Uh? Nothing!" Fred answered, George nodding next to him.

"Seriously, transfigure my room into a newly married suite and transferring all Harry's things inside?" Ginny's face had the same shade as her hair, the girl was standing by the opposite door.

"I don't know what you are talking about!" They both blurted in unison.

"That's not so serious, Ginny…" Molly was now trying to hide her smile.

"I was asleep, mom! And so was Harry!"

Fleur decided she should leave them alone as she didn't want to make her situation with the redheaded girl any worse. She quickly finished her tea and got outside. She found the rest of the family finishing the last touches on the tents. They were all laughing, except for Harry. Whom was trying to blend into the ground.

"I 'eard you are now newly married, 'arry!" She said, causing everyone to laugh even harder and Harry to look at her with pleading eyes.

"Hallo, Fleur…" The boy said, smiling a bit.

"Bonjour" She said to them all. She noticed the size of the tent. "'ow many Grangers are zere? Bill told me eet was going to be only zem and me invited." She asked Harry who had approached her so he could hug her.

"As far as I know, only three. Molly apparently got excited and invited the whole Order." She nodded and smiled. "She loved the book, you know? Wouldn't stop talking about it when I met her to search for an apartment…"

"Oh?" She couldn't help but smile and blush.

"I seriously think that there's no better way to conquer her than with books." He said, smiling.

"I just zought she deserved a better source…"

"Yeah, yeah. Anything you say."

Harry silently stood there, aware of the veela nervousness towards meeting his best friend once again. The two of them - Harry and Fleur - weren't as close as he was with Hermione. And he wasn't used to be good at reading people, that was probably something he got by spending so much time with his best friend and the blonde loony and his fierce girlfriend. A thought came into his mind, and he motioned the woman to accompany him and get away from the Weasleys.

"Uh, Fleur?" He begun, when he calculated it was far enough.

"Oui?"

"I'll not assume anything, so I'm going to ask you. What's your deal with Hermione?"

"Oh!"

"It's nothing like she needs protection. We both know she doesn't. I'm legit curious. I see the way you look at her, it has actually changed since your first day in the Burrow."

"Oui. 'arry, are you familiar with ze Veela culture?"

"I know what Hermione told me. A bit about how your society works, how it's possible to be part veela and something about mates." He answered, trying to remember everything his friend had told him.

"What do you know about mates?" She was growing nervous. Was she really going to tell Hermione's best friend about her being her mate? Not only best friend, she knew they both considered themselves brothers. Harry's head snapped towards her, his eyes wide.

"Wait! Seriously?" He was obviously dumbstruck.

"I believe so. At least eef you 'ad understood zat your dear friend is zee one I identify as my mate." She smiled nervously. His face turned into a huge smile.

"I can't believe it! You and Hermione! I'm really happy!" He hugged her.

"'arry, as much as I like your embrace, I believe your girlfriend isn't too fond about me. And knowing I must change zis eef I really want any chance in earning 'ermione's 'eart, I'd say let's keep zee 'ugs out of question for now…" As soon as she said it, he freed her and smiled.

"I don't even know why she is like that…"

"Never mind, I'm sure we will come zrough eet." When they began walking back to the house, still updating each other about their lives, Bill got out of the door.

"Oh, good. Lunch is ready. Come on…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OOOOOOH! Harry being the brother was legit fun to write! So, I hope you like this chapter! Gabrielle is like 11/12 and just finishing her first year at Beauxbatons... At that age I believe we are quite annoying! LOL
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Don't forget to review.
> 
> Oh, I decided to update every Wednesday and Saturday.
> 
> XoXo


	9. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hallo! Surprise Chapter! Because I feel like it!

Hermione decided that she should write about how she was feeling. She was never one to keep a diary, she always had a lot to do, especially during the last seven years. If being friends with Harry and Ron had done anything it was making her life anything but boring. She had brought a notebook, one that would blend with the others she had, herself being afraid about anyone reading it. And now she sat at her desk, facing its first page not knowing how to start.

"Oh Merlin!" She said, under her breath. And begun to write what was on her mind.

> _I believe I had truly began to grow up quickly when I first noticed that the so-called adventures I had with Ron and Harry weren't common even to wizarding kids. The war only accelerated the process further. When I decided I had to whip myself from my parents memories I cried myself to sleep for three nights and then it came to me that if I ever wanted to see them again I should stop crying and start preparing myself. I knew what Harry needed to do and would never let him do it alone, but I believe Ron only came along because we were doing and he liked to be in the group. So as soon as the three of us were safe in the Burrow, I packed some of our things. The next three months weren't easy. All the problems of coexistence Ron and I had, became obvious and then he decided to leave because of a fight he had with Harry and me. He soon returned, saying he was sorry about everything. I think I never trusted him the same way I did before that, I don't know if I'll ever be able to. Soon after we were captured. Being locked up inside the Malfoy mansion was probably the worse experience I have ever had. Having Bellatrix Lestrange hovering over me and writing on my skin with that blade was by far the most terrifying moment of my whole life. Being under the cruciatus curse over and over again, hearing Harry and Ron scream my name while I screamed what seemed to be the life out of me, is something I would never wish even for my worst enemy. When Dobby rescued us, it was a relief, he managed to treat the wound and was as horrified as Harry by its saying. He made sure to say I was the most wonderful and kind witch he had ever met that I did not deserve such words written on me. We all tried to vanish with it, no success. Luna was with us now but she should be at school, so we sent her there with Dobby. Harry and I treated Mr. Ollivander and Griphook's wounds and had the latter's help to enter Bellatrix's vault on Gringotts. After that, we were alone again and with nothing to destroy the latest horcrux we had found. So, we decided to go to Hogwarts. We managed to enter the school and get in touch with professor McGonagall and then Ron and I went to the first-floor girls' bathroom to find the chamber's entrance. Ron did some display by mimicking Harry's words in parseltongue so we could enter and recover some fangs from there. I soon destroyed the cup and we found our ways back to find harry. The three of us found the last horcrux we were looking for, being the actual last one the snake. When that one was destroyed, we went back to the Great Hall. Just in time for the first attack. I'll have to admit I still find very weird that every time the three of us were endangered most, all our attackers were sent flying towards the field. After a while into that battle, Voldemort gave a retreat order to his followers. Before that, we managed to sneak out and went after him and the snake, planning to kill it. We were greeted with Snape's death. We went back to the castle and Harry hurried to Dumbledore's Office to watch Snape's memories, he came back crying and I instantly understood. He had to die, Dumbledore had made him destroy every horcrux so Harry's death wouldn't be in vain. He was a horcrux himself. I cried too. But let him go. I felt obligated to explain to professor McGonagall what he was doing. And then I had to explain it to Ginny. I believe I never saw her so sad and lost._

Hermione stopped writing, recollecting herself from that memories. She noticed she had been crying all along and whipped her tears away. She went downstairs to get some water to calm herself down. When she sat again on her chair, she read the last part of what she wrote, to remember where she had stopped. She knew what she had to write and closed her eyes to recollect the sensation and what she thought about that specific moment.

> _Only when I looked back to McGonagall, I saw Fleur. We locked eyes and I froze in place, not knowing what I was about to say anymore. Everything ran out of my mind and I felt like I was drowning in her eyes. I saw a smile on her lips and felt lightheaded. Shortly after I explained to them what Harry had discovered, Voldemort appeared with his followers and Hagrid carrying Harry. My heart sank and I couldn't believe it then I realized we had to fight even without him. Everything went on so quickly I was unable to keep track of what was happening, when I was back to myself, I saw myself mechanically fighting death eaters by Fleur's side. Thinking back, I'm able to understand I felt stronger by her side. It seemed like we were so used to fight together that it was possible to think I had been away with her, not Harry. At some point, Ginny and Luna joined us and we saw ourselves fighting Bellatrix. Instantly I felt my body freeze and experience the same pain I had gone through in the Mansion. Apparently, Fleur sensed my state and stood in front of me, I saw a light fly towards us and be deflected by her. She stepped ahead only to be blocked by Mrs. Weasley standing between us and that crazy woman._

Hermione let out a breath she didn't know she was holding. And kept describing her thoughts about the battle. Then she was writing about the next day and again she wrote about how light headed she felt while thinking about Fleur. The more she wrote down how she felt when she was around the blonde, the more she became aware of what she felt towards her. When Hermione finished writing about the last time she saw the older woman, and about the book, she heard a knocking on her window. An owl she didn't know was outside holding a letter and apparently tired. Letting it in, she took some treats she had brought for Hedwig and gave them to the unknown owl, after retrieving the letter.

She smiled at the mere sight of the handwriting. It was unconscious. But after a while she caught herself looking at the letter, smiling, without really reading its content. Realization sank into her.

"Oh fuck!" She said under her breath, catching up with her own feelings.

Hermione never really gave her sexuality a thought. She knew the magical society was quite more open minded then the muggles, at least when it came to it. Her main worry were her parents. How would they react?

"Calm down, Hermione. You are overreacting and overthinking. You don't even know how she feels about you." She rambled, to no one. "Great, now I'm crazy!" After recollecting herself, she answered Fleur's letter.

She went down to dinner when her mother called, thinking about the blonde and how much she was looking forward to see her. Next day, remembering she promised her friend that she would write him, she sat again by her desk and wrote everything she had uncovered about her feelings. As she wrote down the last paragraph of the letter, or what Harry would call an essay, Hedwig came flying into her window.

"Just in time!" She smiled at the owl. She was carrying a small note.

> _Remember what you promised me._
> 
> _Love,_
> 
> _Harry_
> 
> _P.S.: See you in two days!_

She added some lined to her letter, saying he was being annoying, thanking him for sending Hedwig and promising to buy an owl for herself. Hermione spent the rest of the day and the next one with her parents. On the morning of the Weasleys' dinner, she was greeted with a note from Fleur, letting her know she was back in London, and with Dobby delivering a chipped cup, the port key she and her parents would use later to get to the Burrow. She decided that she had to speak to Ginny about Fleur that day. She was now feeling as if she was keeping a huge secret from her best friend. And she would ask Harry to speak to Ronald. The girl grew nervous as time passed, it wouldn't be easy to talk to the ginger, she was kind of strong headed. When they were all set to go, Hermione explained a little about port keys.

"Ok?" Her parents nodded as she finished the explanation. "Let's go, it's time." They all touched the cup and appeared outside the Burrow, the sun was setting as Hermione helped her parents to regain balance.

"Hermione! Thank Merlin you are here! I was going crazy!" Ginny got outside, shouting at her friend. Harry was right after her, followed by Mrs. Weasley, who greeted her parents and directed them inside. Ginny hugged her and started to complain about Fleur, loudly. Harry had an apologetic smile.

"Fleur? Is she here?" Hermione directed the question towards Harry but Ginny was quicker.

"Yes, Bill and mom called her. Ugh, she' so annoying!"

Hermione beamed but refrained herself from running inside the house. Ginny's complaint settled in her mind. A frown arose on her face, causing Ginny to raise an eyebrow.

"Ginny, we need to talk."

"What happened?" the redhead looked worried.

Hermione turned to Harry, partly ignoring her friend. "Could you talk to Ronald about it? He will probably need reasoning." He nodded and walked into the house once again. "Gin, I don't know how to tell you this, as you hate her so much." She took a long breath, shaking a little. "I like Fleur." She said, blunt. "I believe I'm falling for her. And believe me, I'm not under her magic. I haven't seen her since she left Hogwarts last week." Ginny was looking at her, dumbfounded.

"But… But how do you even know that if you didn't see her after that?

"Believe me, I just know. I spent this previous week thinking about her. I couldn't help myself. And I have something to ask you. Please, try giving her a second chance. I don't even know what she did to you."

Ginny looked at her feet, defeated.

"I think I just envied her because of all the attention she gets from everyone. Everybody seems to love her. I kind of wanted it too. And Ron's attitude towards her annoys me. And come on she was kind of a bitch at the Triwizard Tournament…"

"I see. She has changed. Will you be able to give her a second chance?" Ginny nodded, still looking at her feet. Hermione hugged her. "Thanks, Ginny. It means the world to me. You are my best friend after all." She heard the other girl sigh and hug her back.

"Right, she better not steal you from me." As they walked into the house, smiling, they heard a door being slammed.

"SHE IS WHAT?" Ron's voice could be heard from the doorstep. Ginny giggled and Hermione turned red.

"Ok, I think we should get everybody out of the house. Before you are outed by my dumb brother." Ginny smiled. Hermione was profusely blushing as they entered the room where Fleur, her parents and the rest of the Weasleys were. They all looked at them curiously. "We should go outside. I think Harry and Ron are having some sort of couple's fight." With that, Molly promptly stood and hushed everyone outside, the twins laughing at Ginny's joke.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, just because you are really awesome! Hermione has to write to understand what ever is going through her beautiful mind...
> 
> I hope you like it! Wednesday I'll be back, promise!
> 
> Please comment!
> 
> Stay awesome!


	10. Chapter 9

Fleur stayed behind. She wanted to talk to Hermione. Ginny was there, looking at her and obviously fighting a grimace. The younger girl looked at her friend and slightly nodded, she passed Fleur quickly. They were finally alone. Well not exactly, the girl's friends were upstairs apparently arguing.

"Fleur!" She snapped back to reality and smiled at the girl.

"'ermione, 'ow are you going?" She felt her stomach flutter a bit.

"Fine! And you?" Her voice had the power to make her heart skip a beat.

"Awesome!" Beaming at Hermione, she stepped closer to her. "'ow did you find ze book?"

"Oh, Fleur! It's awesome! Thank you so much! The writer…"

"Oui, eets my fazer." Fleur smiled at Hermione. "'e says he can sign your copy eef you want…"

"Wait! You mean that copy is mine?"

"Well, of course!" She said laughing at the other girl's demeanor.

Beaming, Hermione pulled her outside by the hand. She couldn't keep herself from beaming too. They joined everyone outside. About half an hour later, Harry and a frowning Ronald joined them. Fleur started wandering what happened upstairs. Something very awkward was happening. As the rest of the members of the Order arrived, that thought slipped from her mind. It was a pleasant night, meeting everyone after that terrible battle was surprisingly good. The lighter mood was obvious and Fleur wished Gabrielle could be there to meet so many important people, so many important pieces of her life there, in England. She noticed that not only the official member of the Order were there, but some of the older DA members were invited too. They were all gathered retelling stories to each other, but mostly to the Golden Trio. Not wanting to intrude their conversation, she made sure Bill would keep her entertained.

"Fleur, just go talk to her."

"No. She need to catch up wiz 'er friends."

"She will be able to talk to them in Hogwarts. That's definitely something you won't, even with the reports."

"Later" She narrowed her eyes and Bill smirked, knowing he had partially changed her mind.

When dinner was served, Molly instructed everyone to look for their names on the table. Bill gave her a knowing smile. "What did you do, Bill?"

"Nothing, dear. Nothing." As they moved closer to the long table, he motioned to a specific part of the table. "Your name is over there."

After finding her name, she noticed Hermione give her parents, who were seated next to Molly and Arthur, a hug and start searching for her name. When Molly saw what the younger girl was doing, she motioned the direction Fleur was. Fleur had found her seat rather quickly because Bill had indicated the right seat so she didn't feel the need to acknowledge who would seat next to her. Seeing Molly point at her general direction, Fleur quickly read the neat handwrite, that was obviously Molly's, on the place cards next to her. Wide-eyed, she looked at Bill who was smirking contently. Before She could say anything to the men in front of her, Hermione found her way to her side and sat down.

"Hello, Fleur!" In Fleur's opinion, the girl smile had become even more beautiful if it was even possible.

"Allô, 'ermione!" She smiled at the other girl.

Luna came from behind Fleur, starling her as she saw Hermione. "Hello you two! Oh, seems like I'm supposed to seat next to you too, Fleur!" Both girls saluted the younger blonde and smiled.

As Ginny and Harry approached them, the redhead whispered something on Hermione's ear that made her blush and glare the boy, who was next to Fleur.

"Thank me later." He said, smiling and went to his seat next to Ginny.

"Hello, Fleur." the ginger said. That was odd, definitely odd. She had been doing her best to simply ignore Fleur's presence ever since she arrived earlier than everyone else. Now the girl was trying to be nice.

"'ello, Ginny!", smiling. If someone would complain about the other girl's demeanor, it wouldn't be her.

"I heard you have been in France this past week. How's Gabrielle?" Ginny leaned on Hermione so she could see Fleur's full face.

"Uh, she's great! She just finished her first year now and apparently is still completely strong headed as always." The veela smiled dreamingly, thinking about her sister.

"Good to hear." Ginny had always liked her little sister much more, maybe she was only trying to get news from the girl.

"I believe she is trying to persuade maman to let 'er come 'ere for vacation, apparently, she has no patience to her classmates by now." She was happy to deliver some news. "She says she wants to meet with whom I'm going to work with and see if she approves everyone…" Fleur smiled, remembering her saying that she wanted to meet Hermione.

"She must be all grown! Let me know when she's coming!" Hermione beamed at Fleur, making the blonde feel like pudding.

"Sure thing."

"So, I heard the minister wants you to head the aurors with Bill," Ginny changing the subject, "He didn't tell what you are going to do exactly, probably because mom would freak…"

"Oui, ze minister asked us to train some new aurors too, I believe Ronald eez one of zem. Not zat 'e needs much training…" Fleur couldn't stop smiling, she had Hermione by her side and was having a civilized conversation with the girl's best friend. That was odd, but to be sincere quite good. But her face turned into a confused when she heard Ron grumble. She saw Hermione turn around so she could face Ron, turning away from her. Within seconds she saw Ron's frighten expression and Hermione turn back to her.

"Fleur! We need to schedule our meeting so we are able to write the reports." Hermione smiled at her.

"What about we go for a drink? Zen we can arrange our meetings. But I believe you should get a well-deserved a vacation…"

"Oh, sure." Hermione's smile clearly fell.

"You should have a girl's night…" Harry said, causing Fleur and Hermione to beam.

"That would be lovely…" Luna said, joining the conversation. Hermione nodded and turned to her best friend who smiled weakly and nodded.

"Zats a wonderful idea." Fleur smiled, hoping that a night off would help her to change the ginger's mind about her. "We could meet at a bar or even at my 'ouse… I can arrange to 'ave some of my family's wine."

"I definitely vote on wine and Fleur's house!" Luna said almost jumping in excitement.

"Perfect!" Hermione grinned while Ginny half-heartedly smiled and nodded.

"'ow about Saturday night?" Fleur grinned at the other girls, they all nodded.

The dinner was over, most of the members of the order were gone and Fleur noticed that basically she, Luna and Hermione were the last ones that didn't live at the Burrow still there. She smiled and moved to thank Molly for the invite and say goodbye. She had noticed the change on Ginny's behavior after Hermione arrived and thinking about it she noticed they spent some time alone outside. Did Hermione ask the ginger to reconsider? Hardly. They were good friends and hadn't seen each other for a week or so. Must have been that. She begun bidding farewell and soon reached the redhead girl. Fleur smiled and motioned for a hug. Ginny complied.

"Zank you." The veela said, still hugging the girl.

"Uh…"

"I understand zat you can't change your opinion about me within seconds, but zank you for giving me a second chance." Fleur said at earnest, smiling at the girl as she stepped back from the hug. The redhead smiled.

Hermione was purposely the last person Fleur said goodbye to. Both were clearly sad but also too preoccupied with not giving away their feelings to the other that they failed to notice the sadness in each other's eyes.

"Uhm, until Saturday then, Fleur…" Hermione said in a small voice.

"Oui, until zen" Fleur waved to the redhead family once more and disapparated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll probably go crazy with the amount of essays I have due to friday...  
> Sorry about the delay, it's been a crazy week. I must tell you something: NEVER procrastinate! Gods, I'm literally going crazy.  
> Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter… Another one will be up saturday.  
> Please comment!  
> thanks for reading!!


	11. Chapter 10

After Fleur left, Hermione's parents agreed that it was better for them to also go home. After saying their goodbyes, they port keyed back home.

"Dear, is there any other way then this one?" Her mother said to her as soon as the sickness passed. "It's not that I won't take that again but that one we took coming from Australia was way better. That one is possible or it's only for international travel?"

"Oh! I'll see what I can do. I admit that port key isn't my favorite transportation either. I'll try to connect our fireplace to the floo network. I don't really know about the regulations about it in Muggles residences…" Hermione smiled and both of her parents were clearly relieved.

They all went to bed after a calming tea Hermione made them. The wise girl changed into her pijamas and tried to sleep. When she closed her eyes, she saw the blonde's smile and heard her laugh. Hermione couldn't refrain herself and sighted, a dreamy smile on her lips.

The next day she had breakfast with her parents and decided to go cloth shopping. She noticed she didn't have much clothes other than her uniform anymore and she had been wanting to buy some muggle clothes. Hermione spent most of the day in muggle London, walking with her mother, who offered company. Money had never been a problem for the Grangers. They weren't as rich as Harry, for example, but they were able to buy Hermione everything she needed and some of the things she wanted. And now, Hermione received Sirius's heritage even not being a Black yet, the money he left for her was on her vault. The woman had been considering Sirius offer and was studying pureblood families, of course.

"Mom, uhm, Harry's godfather, Sirius, left somethings to me as you know. But there is something he offered me that I didn't say because I wasn't sure it was even possible…" Hermione needed a second opinion. They were having lunch in a small restaurant near the last store they had gone into. Her mother was the perfect person to give her the opinion she needed, the woman had an analytic mind just like hers. The woman motioned her to continue. "Well, Sirius offered me to enter the Black's family…"

"And how would that work? Assuming you want it and is possible."

"Uh, from what I read, I need to sign some papers that have been prepared since Sirius's will had been read at Gringotts. Apparently is some source of magic and in the eyes of the law I would become Hermione Black, or Black Granger if I wish to keep my last name."

"So, it is almost a marriage."

"Yes…" Hermione blushed. "As we see marriage in the muggle law, yes."

"I understand you want my opinion." Hermione nodded. "Hermione, dear, if you think it has any importance for you, then yes you should do it. Is there any specific motive for you to accept it?"

"Harry and I would be considered brothers by the magical society."

"Harry?" The older woman smiled. "I was wishing you would fall for him but yesterday made me realize you have some other interest and he is dating that lovely redhead…" Hermione was strongly blushing, having realized her mother had understood her interest in Fleur. "Well if you do wish to be considered his sister, you should to go ahead. Will you want to keep the Granger?"

"Of Course! You are my family, obviously…" She smiled. They finished their lunch in a comfortable silence, both smiling. They walked out of the restaurant and resumed the shopping. Later, the older woman decided to go home and Hermione decided to go to the Diagon Alley they bid farewell and parted ways.

Hermione entered the Leaky Caldron and brought a Butter beer, trying to ignore the stares she always received while in the magical world. Being a member of the Golden Trio, as the Daily Prophet named the three of them, wasn't exactly pleasant and now she understood why Harry was always uncomfortable in public. She quickly drunk the beverage and readied herself to continue her way to the magical ally, the woman was practically praying that no one would try to start a conversation or even get an autograph. It had happened about two times and she already was mortified that someone would want that. As if they were listening to her thoughts, she felt someone tap her.

"E-excuse me." A little girl was shyly trying to reach her shoulder and get her attention. Hermione turned to face the girl a little annoyed but smiled when she saw the girl. "I-I am very sorry to bother you." The girl seemed to be around ten years-old and was fiddling with her fingers looking at the floor. Hermione kneeled and reached the girl's face so she could see her eyes.

"Hey, It's ok. What's your name?" She smiled.

"Moire" The girl's eyes were full of joy.

"Oh, it's a beautiful name! Now, you, I believe was going to ask me something." Hermione said, holding Moire's hand.

"Thank you. I actually wanted to thank you, for everything. I'm new in this world but since I knew it exists I've been reading about it and you saved it all." The girl smiled at her. "I just turned eleven, a month ago, but professor McGonagall was only able to reach me about four days ago. She explained everything about the wizarding world to me and my parents and brought me to the Diagon Alley so I could get to know everything. She also said that I will receive a letter in a few months with my Hogwarts Acceptance and that then I'll be able to buy everything I'll need for school. My parents noticed I'm completely curious and managed to buy some history books for me as well as subscribe to the Daily Prophet. We came today to buy some more books… I can't believe I got to know you!"

"So, you are a muggle born?" Hermione asked, smiling broadly.

"Yes. I hope it's not a problem…"

"Not at all. I am a muggle born myself! And thank you. It's a pleasure to meet you, Moire! Where are your parents?" The older girl hugged the other and stood, trying to find someone that looked like the younger girl.

"They are right there!" The girl pointed at a table where a couple was sat, watching them and smiling. Hermione waved at them and turned to the girl once again.

"Look, Moire, I have to go now, if I wish to get Flourish and Blotts open. But it was an immense pleasure to know you! And I hope to see you in school."

"What? You are still in Hogwarts?"

"Well, yeah. Maybe I can explain it to you later. But now I really have to go." Hermione smiled at the girl and acknowledged her parents and walked to the back of the bar, still smiling.

"Eet seems you 'ave a fan…" She heard Fleur say, as soon as she tapped the last brick of the sequence. Facing the source of the voice, she smiled even brighter. "'ello 'ermione!"

"Oh! Hi, Fleur! You should have said something, Moire would love to meet you too, I bet."

"I only saw you saying goodbye and telling 'er zat you will be zere in 'er first year. And I zink you just conquered anozer Griffindor." Fleur smiled. "What brings you 'ere, eef I'm allowed to know."

"Just a little trip to Flourish and Blotts to see if they have any books I might be interest. I was around here today, went shopping with mom. And you?"

"Same, actually. And maybe a little trip to Weasley & Weasley. I never really 'ad ze opportunity to see ze twins job…"

"I see… What about we walk together? I could help you at the twins' store and keep you clear of the worse tricks…" Hermione was feeling confident. Fleur beamed and nodded.

"You live nearby?"

"Uh, not exactly. Not currently, just outside London. You?"

"Actually, yes. But I leave in Muggle London. I really zink eets better zen to be recognized every move I make. You know, ze Triwizard Championship."

"I understand. If it wasn't a little girl I think I would have snapped."

They fell silent, each thinking about the others situation. They entered the bookstore and traveled through the shelves sometimes picking a book and reading part of the content. They both ended up buying three new books and had some mentally added to their wish list. After a while they were entering the twins shop and were greeted by the owners who happily gave Fleur a tour. When it was over, Fleur was holding a package with at least ten Weasley products that they had given her for free.

"'ermione, would you want to grab a cup of coffee somewhere? Zen I promise to leave you be…"

"Sure"

They found a little cafe near Olivander's shop and spent a couple of hours there. They both tried to make small talk. Hermione was feeling awfully insecure now that she acknowledged her own feelings for the blonde, she was being quite incapable of maintaining a simple talk and line of thought as thoughts about how the other looked really good that day. One of the times she zoned out, she was brought back by Fleur's question about the next year in Hogwarts. But she didn't quite understand.

"Sorry, what was your question?"

"Oh, what are you expecting about next year? I remember you said you were going back to 'ogwarts to finish school even zough ze minister offered all of you a free pass and a job at ze ministry."

"I felt like accepting the offer would be cheating and I like being there, it's homey. At least this year I hope there will be no problem… Every other year there was something. Ginny managed to persuade Harry to go back too. I hope it will be a good year." Hermione smiled, remembering her conversation with her mother about Sirius' offer. "I just don't know how we are going to work with me there…"

"Oui. But surely Minerva will figure it out…"

"I probably should remember her."

"You should enjoy your vacation, 'ermione…"

"Ah! Yes, but we still need to work. I still have to communicate the ministers request to all the DA members…"

"You will simply ignore my suggestion about ze vacation, right?" Fleur sighed and smiled at Hermione.

"Well, I'm not exactly on vacation. I'll work at the ministry until I get back to Hogwarts, beginning this Monday."

"Zat's actually wonderful! So, you got yourself an internship?"

"Yes, I'll work at with the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures, mostly about the House Elves." Hermione was really proud of being able to say her ideas would be heard. Fleur smiled at her.

"I guess I'll be seeing you zere zen."

"Yes! I guess we could arrange our meetings after work?"

"Oui. Next week? 'ow about friday? So we will have some time to adapt to our work routine."

"That would be wonderful! Where?" Hermione and Fleur were beaming and already looking forward to their meeting.

"'ere? Ze coffee is quite good in my opinion and zey 'ave a more secluded area."

"Perfect! I actually loved it in here!" Hermione looked at the clock at the wall and stood. "Oh my! It's quite late and I promised mom I'd help her with dinner… I'm sorry Fleur."

"Not a problem I didn't notice time passing eizer. I'm supposed to meet Bill for dinner. Ze minister sent 'im our instructions for next week." Fleur smiled. "See you tomorrow zen? Unless you…"

"I'm looking forward to it. Girls night, I haven't been in one of these in ages!" Hermione cut her off and smiled. She walked out of the cafe and apparated to her room.

"Mom? Dad? I'm home!" She shouted from her bedroom door.

"Great, hun! Dinner in half an hour. Sorry, I didn't wait for you to cook. I figured you met a friend there when you got late." her mother answered her from the kitchen, downstairs.

"Yes, I'm sorry. I did actually, Fleur was there."

"I see…"

Hermione remembered her mother's request about the floo and began writing a request so their fireplace could be connected to the Floo net. She wondered to whom she should send it. Maybe she should go to the alley before going to Fleur's the next day. She should have brought an owl already. She finished writing and started thinking about what she should wear the next day.

"That's ridiculous." She said under her breath. "I just met her." She was growing nervous.

"Dinner!" She heard her mother call her and her father.

"Going!" She folded the parchment and made sure it wouldn't fly because her window was open. After dinner, she spent some time with her parents and went back to her room, wanting to unpack all the clothes she had brought.

While she was going through her new clothes, she came to the realization that it would be preferable for her to move already to the new apartment Harry and she would share. It was closer to the ministry. Of course, she would be able to apparate there every day or even floo, but she preferred walking. At least a little exercise would be good for her and except for weekends she would hardly see her parents anyway. They would get back to the clinic on Monday too. When she came to that conclusion, she decided to talk to her parents about it.

The three of them had a deep conversation about it the next morning and they all cried for a while. After lunch, Hermione went to London and stayed there until it was time to meet the other girls. They had agreed to meet at the Leaky Caldron and go to Fleur's from there, since none of them had been there yet. Hermione spent two hours at the bookshop, not seeing the time pass. It was almost time for her to go to the bar and she was yet to buy the three books she wanted. The woman was in line to pay when the men in front of her looked back and went wide eyed. Hermione fought against the urge of rolling her eyes. The guy starred at her for a few seconds before he started talking, when the cashier called him.

"Uh, Miss Granger… Please, go ahead. I can wait." The men moved to let her go before him. She looked at the clock in the opposite wall, she really could use the time.

"No, sir. No need." She said, her face growing red.

"I insist." She went ahead, praising Merlin that the wizard existed even though she hated the attention. "And thank you for what you did for us."

"Uh… Thanks." She still was simply incapable of dealing with all that thankfulness.

When she finished paying for the books, she heard a little commotion at the store entry.

"You see? I told you she was here!" She heard her best friend's voice and looked once more to the clock. She was late. The commotion had begun as her three friends entered the store. The four of them were, by then, known members of the Order of the Phoenix and of Dumbledore's Army who had important roles at the war. "Oh, shit…" The crowd inside the bookstore began to form a mob as Hermione got closer to her friends.

"Out, now!" The wise girl said quickly to her friends as people were getting closer to them. Thanks to their acquired quick reflexes, they were able to get out of there and before anyone outside the store noticed them, Fleur clearly used her veela magic to keep any other person from them.

"I'm sorry, I should 'ave warned you zat I was going to use zat. I just figured you also don't like ze attention we just got…"

They got out of the alley and into the bar then they were in muggle London. Once there, Fleur suspended the magic. Hermione saw the other two sight. She was actually in awe and thankful. The brunette had grown used to the harassment given Harry always received it and she was very sure that Fleur herself was too. She noticed the veela had done that only to help the other two anxiety that showed the moment everyone began to look at them at the store.

"Thank you, Fleur." Ginny said, leaning against the wall.

"De rien (you're welcome), Ginny." Fleur smiled. It was getting dark, and she moved to show the way to her apartment.

Hermione and the other two girls followed her. Ginny began to glance at her friend when they turned a corner. Both noticed the closeness of the older witch's house from Harry and Hermione's flat. Basically, Fleur lived across the street from where they would. Ginny slowed her pace, holding the brunettes arm so she would too.

"That reminds me," she said lowly, "Harry wants to know if you want to meet him tomorrow to fix the last things about the flat. He is actually thinking about moving soon because of the internship…" Ginny said this last part a little sad.

"Oh, sure. I was thinking of moving in earlier too." Hermione answered quietly.

Fleur went up the stairs once inside the building and moved closer to the only door visible on that floor. Without a key, she touched the doorknob and opened it, motioning them to get inside.

"Feel free, I'll get ze wine and some snacks." Hermione entered the room as Fleur got to the kitchen, leaving the front door open to them. Luna was the last one to get inside and closed the door. The three girls stood near the door and looked at the apartment. It was not really surprising for Hermione that the apartment was decorated in a simple and modern design nor the amount of books the french woman had. What caught her attention was the number of photographs that were hanging on the wall in front of her. The room had a white corner couch, the fireplace had two armchairs nearby and there was a round table near the kitchen balcony. From where they were they could see Fleur gathering the food and drinks.

"Fleur? Do you need help?" Hermione asked.

"Non. But thanks…" Fleur flashed a smiled at her a resumed her doings.

Hermione started walking around the room, reading the names of the books that Fleur had on the stocked shelves. The other two girls decided to do the same. As Fleur got back from the kitchen, holding four glasses in one hand and making everything fly to the table previously set, the three women were admiring the pictures and recognizing some of the people there.

* * *

"'ey, I took ze liberty of making dinner for us…"

"Ah! What do we have?" Ginny, who was clearly hungry but wouldn't admit it to no one, got closer to the dinner table as Fleur filled the four glasses of wine.

"Oh, the Weasley hunger!" Hermione said, making her best friend blush.

"I 'ope you like chicken and bacon… And pasta." Fleur said to the ginger girl and waited so everyone was settled and took her seat by Luna's side. She served them and then sat down.

"I believe the Weasleys like everything…" Luna said, smiling at the ginger in front of them.

"At least Ginny has better manners than Ronald." Hermione stated, laughing.

"Who doesn't?" Said the redhead remembering her sibling's way of eating. "Fleur, that is wonderful!"

"Merci!" Fleur was observing the three friends bicker, finding really heartwarming the way they treated each other, Hermione and Ginny the most. For what she had seen, Hermione really considered the Weasleys and Harry her family.

"Fleur, that wine is absolutely marvelous!" Hermione smiled at her, after taking a sip of the red liquid.

"Zat eez ze 'arvest Mom and Dad decided not to sell and keep mostly for family events. Eet's pretty good eesn't eet?" Fleur smiled as three other women nodded.

"Thank you, Fleur…" The ginger said. The girl seemed reluctant to speak what else she had in mind. "I guess I own you an apology. I judged you before I got to know you…"

"No need, Ginny. I guess I 'ave to recognize I was kind of bitchy when we saw each ozer zee first time." Fleur made sure to smile and reassure the girl it was indeed fine.

When they finished the meal, they moved to the couch, wine glasses in hand, and talked about mostly everything. The wine bottle had been enchanted and refilled itself when it was close to empty. At some point in the night, Fleur noticed that Hermione decided to stop drinking as she would have to apparate home, a wise decision she could say. Fleur herself kept the drinking in a low rate as always. They were laughing at Merlin knows what and when the laugh died they all spent some time in silence.

"Fleur! Tell me! Your love adventures?" Ginny asked loudly, earning a stare from Hermione. "What? I'm curious, I'm getting to know her better, I'm allowed to ask! And I already know everything about your's and Luna's." The ginger had her head resting on her best friend's lap, her legs were up hanging on the backrest which left her in a strange position. And she was now trying to look into Fleur's eyes who was smiling at the interaction.

"Well, I 'ave 'ad some boyfriends and girlfriends." When she said the last word, she examined the other girls' reactions. They remained unfazed, except for Hermione who had a strange glow in her eyes. "And there was Bill…"

"Come on! Spill the tea!" Luna squealed.

"Not about my brother, please!" Ginny made a disgusted face apparently from imagining Bill and her together. Hermione remained quiet, listening to the other girls.

"Not much, as I 'ad said earlier, I admit I was kind of a bitch in school and I kind of broke some 'earts just because I could. Zen my veela maturity came and I stopped doing so, kept to myself for about a year and when I came to England, I met Bill, we became friends and I 'oped 'e could be my mate. I suppose you are familiar with that term?"

"Yes, Harry explained to me. From what Hermione told him…" The other two girls nodded.

"When I realized I couldn't hold him back knowing zat any minute I could find my mate, I talked to him. Zat was ze first time I visited you 'ouse, Ginny. He already knew everyzing I told 'im and said 'e 'ad my back. Obviously 'e made me promise to tell 'im when I find zem. We were still in an on and off relationship until recently."

"Have you found your mate already?" Ginny pressed.

"I want to hear about Hermione's love adventures now! I only know Gin for long after all!" Luna said, smiling and relaxing a little more in the couch. Fleur smiled at her, silently thanking her for the save.

"Hermione has so little love life it's boring!" Ginny complained, and with that the older girl pushed her from her lap, making the redhead fall into the ground. They all laughed at the girl's face as she got up. "Hey!"

"Next time you will think before you speak!" Hermione said, with raised brow. "I dated Victor for a Summer and that was a complete failure, believe me! Oh, and Ronald, for like three months in sixth year. But he annoyed me so much… Yeah, I guess my love life is indeed dull." She laughed. That laugh would be the death of Fleur, she came to that conclusion that night as she watched the brunette. "I guess I kind of didn't have time for it between school and all the trouble your beautiful boyfriend seemed to attract."

"Oh, that's true. His like trouble magnet!" Ginny said, resuming her position on Hermione's lap.

"'ow about yours, Ginny?"

"All the time I didn't have, Ginny had." Hermione laughed. "Get comfy, it will take a while!"

"Rude! Also not true! I only dated Harry and Dean." She earned a raised brow from Hermione. "Oh right, Michael Corner too…" This time she earned a look from Luna. "Come on, I also hooked up with two ravenclaw girls" Fleur smiled as the other two women laughed at their blushing friend.

"That leaves me. I only dated Neville, actually. After… You know… The manor." For the first time, Fleur saw the other witch look sad. "We kind of decided not to when we saw we were better friends a while later." The girl smiled at the other three. The four of them knew what happened there, well Fleur didn't really know what happened to Hermione there but she knew it must have been traumatic as the girl froze when she saw Bellatrix at the battle. Feeling the mood in the room go down the hill, Fleur tried to make it better:

"So, I 'ave in my 'ouse one royalty and two girls who dated/date ze royalty of ze second wizarding war!" With that Hermione choked and the other two girls rolled to the ground, laughing.

"Royalty?" Hermione managed to say after drinking the glass of water Fleur summoned for her.

"Hell yeah! Don't you read the Daily Prophet? That's how they are calling you three and Neville." Ginny said as the laugh died.

"Actually I believe we have two royalties here, Fleur. Ginny was the head of the resistance alongside Neville. I believe she was listed as one there too."

"Oui. I remember now. Ze Golden Trio, Neville Longbottom and Ginevra Weasley, zee Royalty of zee Second Wizarding War, our saviors. I believe zey stated zat way." Fleur said, laughing and putting her hands up as reading the headlines of the newspaper.

"Oh, shut it. No one is royalty. Everyone had an important role." Hermione stated.

"Yes, and yours included making Voldemort killable. C'mon you three must have had the worst year and, except for Ron, you insist saying you haven't done anything extraordinary…" Ginny said at earnest.

"I'll give that if you stop calling me royalty. That's nonsense."

"As you wish" The other three said and bowed, mockingly.

"That's it! I'm out!" Hermione knotted her brows and turned away to retrieve her purse.

"Oh come on! We were just kidding!" Ginny said, holding her arm.

"I'm sorry, 'ermione…"

Hermione sighed. "Ok…"

"Now drink. You have no right to stay sober today!" Ginny handed her a glass of wine.

Fleur noticed Hermione took only one small sip of the red liquid and then only pretended to be drinking the rest of the time. The veela decided that she wanted to befriend her first, even if the girl couldn't reciprocate the feelings she had. Being close to her was enough for her, at least for now. She begun to feel a little sleepy and apparently, Hermione took notice of that.

"Uhm, Fleur I should go, Harry asked me to meet him tomorrow and it's kind of late…" She smiled at the veela. "And I believe Ginny and Lun are quite too drunk to go on their own… I should get them home."

"Oh, ok… Eet was a pleasure 'aving you here. We should do eet more…"

"Sure. And I'm actually looking forward to Friday." Hermione hugged the blonde, both lingering a little more than they should.

"WHAT? We are leaving already?!" Ginny complained as Hermione took the wine from her and conjured a Patronus to notify the Weasleys that she was going there with the redhead and Luna. Fleur said goodbye to the three of them and watched Hermione enter the fireplace, holding bot girls.

She sat on her favorite spot on the couch, that was the exact same place Hermione was seated earlier. She decided to read a little before going to sleep so she retrieved the book she had begun to read the day before. She fell asleep with the comfortable smell of roses, the scent of Hermione's hair she noted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone! First: thanks for the comments! Second: I'm so so so sorry I skipped three (?) updates, I got caught up by the end of the term. But fear not! Now I’m quite free so I’ll keep updating on the days I said. I’m a Graduate now! Anyway, keep commenting, please! It’s good to know what you guys think about the story.  
> Thanks!


	12. Chapter 11

The Weasleys' common room appeared in front of Hermione as Fleur's faded and soon she saw herself being helped, by a very sleepy Harry, to bring the two drunk girls into Ginny's room.

"How was the night?" The boy whispered after they had put the girls on the beds and left the room

"Wonderful. She cooked for us, bacon stuffed chicken breast and pasta with pesto sauce. The wine was splendid and I think Ginny gave up hating her, thank Merlin!" Hermione had an unnoticed smile on her lips and Harry smiled at it.

"Good to know! Are you spending the night? I wanted to talk to you about some things…"

"Uhm, Ginny told me. I have to go home actually, but we could meet at the diagon alley tomorrow. Say, after lunch?"

"Perfect! I've been wanting to ask you to lend me a book…"

"Oh, crap! I forgot to give Fleur the book I brought her. I'm sorry, Harry. I must go quickly. But yeah, just tell me the name…" Not waiting for another word from Harry, she grabbed a handful of powder and threw it on the fireplace after stepping into it. "Fleur's Apartment" Harry heard her say clearly.

In a second she was again on Fleur's living room. As she opened her eyes, she was greeted with the view of a sleeping Fleur with a book, she was apparently reading, laying open on her stomach. Hermione smiled. She was beautiful sleeping. What the hell! She was beautiful doing anything. She forced herself to focus and stop staring, retrieved the book from her purse and conjured a pen and a piece of paper. Quickly wrote a small note for the blonde woman, leaving it and the book on the center table in front of the sleeping woman. Hermione sighed and disapparated. She appeared in her own room and got ready to sleep, which she did rather quickly.

The next morning Hermione woke up with a content smile plastered on her face, which didn't go unnoticed by her mother who smirked as she saw the good mood her daughter was in when the younger woman entered the kitchen giving good morning.

"I see the night was good…" She said, making Hermione blush.

"Yes, wonderful food and wine… And company, obviously." She smiled. "Mom, I have to meet Harry today. Apparently, there are some issues we must solve about the flat. And I'll probably move there today too. I hoped we could have a family lunch today?"

"Of course, dear!" The older woman had a sad smile on her face.

"Will you need any help with the moving out? You haven't packed anything yet… Oh right, magic" Her father said, mockingly. He entered the room when she said she would move out that day.

"I could use a drive. It's a lot of things and I should at least pretend to be a normal person as we brought the flat in a muggle neighborhood…"

"Perfect! We could have lunch in London and then we meet when you and Harry figure everything out. Around six? We could get everything in the car before we leave to lunch." The man was excited to help his daughter.

"Sure. I hope Harry and I are able to fix everything by then."

They finished breakfast and Hermione went to her bedroom so she could pack everything. Just when she finished - she had been deciding what would go and what wouldn't - her father knocked on her open door.

"Ready, sweety?"

"Yes…" They made about three travels carrying boxes from her room to the car. "I think that's all…" She said as she entered her room once more and saw that all the boxes were gone. Looking around, she felt overwhelmed and started crying silently until she felt her mother's arms around her and then her father's.

"Shhh… Hermione, dear, you will be an hour away and you can come here anytime you want. It will never cease to be your home, baby." The older woman said. When Hermione calmed down, they closed the bedroom door and left to London.

They enjoyed every second they had together at lunch and then left Hermione in front of the Leaky Caldron.

"Here at six?" Her father asked, from the driver's seat. Hermione nodded and bid farewell from the sidewalk. As they drove away, she entered the noisy bar hoping no one would notice her.

* * *

Fleur woke up with the sun in her face. She almost fell from the couch when she didn't recognize her surroundings until five seconds later she realized she must have fell asleep while reading. Lazily, she sat up making the book she had been reading fall to the ground. When she stood and took the book from the ground, she noticed a book at the center table. She didn't recognize it and she was pretty much sure it wasn't there before. The veela performed a quick verifying spell on it and sat down again to have a better look at it. As she opened the book, a piece of parchment fell from it. Clearly it was from Hermione. Her heart fluttered and she shamelessly smiled.

> _Fleur,_
> 
> _I'm sorry for breaking in while you were asleep. It must have taken longer than I thought to put that drunk girls in bed. I wanted to give you this book as a thank you for the veela one you gave me. I don't even know how you feel about Shakespeare nor if you even know it, but that is my favorite play._
> 
> _Hope you enjoy it,_
> 
> _Hermione_

Fleur carefully closed the book she was previously reading, marking where she had stopped, and reopened Hermione's gift. 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' she read. The blonde rested the book on top of the other one and stood to refresh and make herself a cup of coffee. Less than half an hour later she was leaning on her couch once again, mug in hand. She carefully placed the mug on the table and eagerly retrieved the new book, beginning to read it. She had no doubt she would stay home that day, devouring the book the younger woman had just given her.

* * *

Hermione kept her head down as she walked through the bar and into the almost deserted magical alley. She walked to the ice-cream shop she knew Harry would be. They had marked the place as a meeting point every time they were in the alley.

"Hi 'Mione!" She heard him say from behind her as she sat at one of the tables. "Your favorite." He gave her an ice cream cone and smiled.

"Thanks, Harry! How's Ginny?" She asked, smirking.

"Hungover, as expected." He smiled. "So is Lun. Molly gave them a long speech before she started taking care of them." They both laughed. "Did Fleur like the book?"

"Uh, she was asleep when I got back. I don't really know. I left it there for her." Harry nodded.

"'Mione, have you given a thought about Sirius' letter? I've been meaning to ask you that…"

"Yes, I have actually. And the answer is actually yes."

"And we could solve this today? I mean, we are here after all. All that is dealt at Gringotts."

"Sure. Ginny said you wanted to figure some things out about the apartment…"

"Oh, It's just that I'm planning on moving today and I hoped we could choose our rooms and organize the apartment."

"Really? I was planning the same…" Soon they were heading to the wizarding bank. "How's Ginny about you moving from the burrow?"

"She's not really happy but understands I need to. I don't really understand what I did to deserve her, 'Mione."

"A lot, Harry. A lot."

They got to the bank and while they were being attended, Hermione noticed that some of the goblins were giving them a nasty look.

"Harry, the last time you were here, you apologized for the damage we made?" She whispered and he shook his head in answer. Hermione turned her attention to the goblin that was attending them: "Before anything else, we would like to formally present our apologies about the recent events we have been involved…" The goblin looked at her in surprise.

"There is no need, Miss Granger. You have done a great service to us all."

"Nonetheless I'd like to apologize. I know it might be a stain on your reputation and it was wrong no matter the circumstances."

"I see. Wait a minute." The goblin stood from his post and entered a room, coming back with an apparently older goblin. They motioned them to follow and the four of them entered yet another room. This one had a lonely giant desk.

"I realize you understand the importance of our reputation to us, goblins. And it admires me that you worried enough to come here to apologize although I'm aware it's not the only reason. There is no sense on you making a big speech apologizing as we all recognize the importance of what happened here. That being said, I would like to know what you would propose to do so." the older goblin said.

"We would like to give you something that symbolically represents our sincere apologies and recognition of wrong doing. Maybe a plaque?" Hermione was making all the exchange there, Harry knew better then to try saying something. He just nodded, agreeing to everything she said. The goblin smiled satisfied.

"I see you know our traditions. And understands them." With a hand gesture, the goblin conjured a brass plaque with nothing written. "I recognize you are gifted with words, Miss Granger, I'll leave it to you."

Hermione looked at the piece of brass and started thinking about what to write. After a few moments, she flicked her wand and words began to magically appear.

> _Harry Potter, Ronald Weasley and Hermione Granger sincerely offer to the Goblin community our apologies for what transpired during the Second Wizarding War. We recognize the wrong doing and commit on demonstrating our profound respect for thee._

She looked at both goblins silently asking for their approval. The older one apparently had tears on his eyes, both nodded as they read the words the woman had wisely chosen. Hermione then motioned to Harry who came closer.

"Touch the plaque here with your wand. You will be leaving your magical signature." He nodded and did as he was told. She did the same. "Ronald will come as soon as possible to sign this, we are sorry he is not her now." She said to the goblins. They nodded. That being done, both goblins asked them to wait a little so they could gather the paperwork they would have to sign. When they came back, every single page of it had Sirius's signature. When Hermione signed the last paper, after Harry did so, another parchment appeared in the desk.

"Now, we need you to sign this with your new name." The older goblin said to Hermione. She did so.

The duo left the bank happier than before and with a lighter conscience. They left the alley, quickly passing through the bar, and headed to the apartment. Hermione still had two hours until she had to meet her parents when they got there

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed!  
> Please comment!  
> See ya!


	13. Chapter 12

As they passed the entry to Fleur's building, Hermione smiled and wondered if the blonde had seen the book and if she had already begun to read it.

"Fleur lives around here, right? Ginny told me her flat was near ours…" Harry said, not taking notice of his friends smile.

"Yes. Right there, actually."

Soon they were getting inside their new apartment. Hermione looked around and smiled. They had brought the flat with most of the furniture so it was mostly the same as when the saw it for the first time. She noticed two new bookcases on the living room.

"I wanted to buy some bookshelves so you could have some books around here, so I asked Ginny to help me choosing. We hope you like it."

"It's perfect but honestly I can only place about one third of the books I own here…" She laughed knowing she had far too many books. Harry smiled knowingly. "We don't really have much to decide, right?"

"I know you have one of the bedrooms in mind for yourself, 'Mione. I imagine it's one of the two that have a balcony…"

"Uhh, I'd like to keep the one that has the backyard view… I basically fell in love with that one…"

"It's okay, I liked the other one better anyway. I had our fireplace linked to the floo network and we also have telephone."

"We both have our keys. I'm assuming Ginny has a copy too?"

"Sure. You can give one to your veela too…" Harry teased. Hermione's face instantly became scarlet.

"Fleur is not mine, although I'd like that, I think. Just shut up, Harry!" Hermione ranted as the men in front of her laughed. "Oh, speaking of her, I might ask her what's the spell she used to make her door respond to her and unlock itself when she touches it… I could use it here if you agree, of course."

"A door that doesn't need a key to open? And that doesn't accept alohomora to be unlocked? Count me in!" He said as soon as he managed to stop laughing. She nodded, mentally tacking note to ask the blonde about it.

She still had about an hour until she had to leave and meet her parents. She began walking around the apartment, almost squealing. Yes, she was sad to leave her parent's house and her old bedroom but it was also a great joy to have her own place. Well, not only her own it was Harry's too. But they both were very similar and she took notice of it during last year. The two of them were able to roommate and she was sure that they would have wonderful time there.

"We need food." She said as she opened the fridge.

"Food that, in no freaking way, you are going to cook." Harry said mockingly.

"I had no intention to do so. You are way better than me cooking."

"The last time you tried to cook you almost burned the tent down. You are so no touching that kitchen. I'm afraid you will tear it down trying to get cereal." They both laughed at that idea.

"Don't ever say that next to Ron. He won't ever let it go."

"Sure. What else we need? Food, some paintings to hang around…"

"I think that's all." They were both walking around the place. Hermione transfigured some of the furniture into something she imagined they both would like better, always asking for Harry's approval before making the change permanent. "I have to go meet my parents so I can bring my things."

"Yeah, I'll head to the burrow to bring mine. What do you say about a family dinner?"

"It's a lovely idea. I was thinking about going to a restaurant, actually."

"I'll cook, Hermione. I should get going if I want that to happen." He walked to the fireplace, waved her goodbye and was gone. Hermione looked around and disapparated. It was a good thing the building held only two flats and that the other one was owned by a wizard too.

She appeared inside the Leaky Caldron and headed out just as her parents approached the bar entry. They were both smiling as the got back to the car. None of them said much as Hermione guided them to the building but she noticed some boxes that weren't there earlier. Before she could ask anything about them, her mother caught her attention asking how they had found the place. Parking the car in front of the building, her father got out and picked up a box so he could carry it into the edifice. All boxes were jinxed so they would weigh no more than what the loader could carry so it would be a rather easy job to get all of them upstairs.

"I should show you around first. Than we can come back down and get everything upstairs." Hermione said to him, smiling. He nodded and followed her into the building, holding his wife's hand. "Oh, Harry wants to cook for you and the Weasleys. I agreed to have dinner here. I hope you don't mind"

"Dear, if he is half the wonderful cooker you keep telling us, it will be a pleasure!" Her mother answered, with a smile and her dad nodded along.

When Hermione opened the door, they were greeted with a lot of noise. Hermione smiled, thinking she wanted her home to be like that sometimes. It felt like Griffindor's common room. Mr. Weasley was the first to notice them, he greeted them with a smile and a hug. Soon Hermione was being mobbed by redheads. The last one was Mrs. Weasley, who came from the kitchen after hearing the commotion.

"Thank you for bringing Ginny and Luna back to the Burrow, Hermione." She said after greeting them.

"Oh, it was nothing. I did promise Harry I would and she is my best friend." Hermione smiled.

"Harry apologizes he can't come as he is cooking but dinner will be ready soon, I suppose you have to bring your things to your room…" The redhead mother said. "Bill, Fred, George and Ronald!"

"Yes, mom…" The four answered.

"Go help Hermione bringing her stuff, so she will be settled before dinner!"

"Yes, mother…" The group obeyed.

All the boxes were brought up and were waiting for her attention on a corner of her room within half an hour. They were all gathered on the living room, chatting and waiting for the food when the fireplace erupted in green flames a very unique Luna emerged from there.

"I'm sorry, I'm late…" The girl was staying at the Burrow for a few weeks as her father was traveling and gathering information for an article for his newspaper. "I wanted to bring a gift for you." She was holding two boxes wrapped in red and smiled at Hermione.

"No worries, Harry is actually still cooking…" Hermione took both boxes and placed them on the coffee table.

In a few minutes, Hermione and Ginny were settling the table. They all sat and enjoyed the meal Harry and Mrs. Weasley made. All of them praising Harry's ability to cook. Ron made a joke about Hermione lack of knowledge in that specific area and everyone laughed as he told the story of how she nearly burned their tent.

"It might be my fault. I never liked cooking so I always had someone to do it or we would just go out." Her mother defended her.

"Thinking about it, it's quite true. I don't remember seeing you at the kitchen very often when I was little." Hermione smiled, seeing how her parents merged with the Weasleys and realized that she always wished she could bring them together. They were all her family and she was very much proud of them.

Later that night, after only her, Harry and, obviously, Ginny were left in the flat, Hermione started to go through her boxes. Not before she opened her gifts from the Weasleys (a handmade red duvet with a huge golden H in the middle), Luna (something the girl instructed her to place on her desk so it could keep some creatures - she didn't understand its name - from her) and her parents (a bunch of framed family photos and a big framed poster of her favorite Shakespeare play). As she finished placing everything where she wanted, Hermione heard a light knock on her door.

"Come in!" Ginny and Harry stood in her doorframe.

"You are quick! Harry is yet to open his gifts…" Ginny said, nudging her boyfriend.

"It might be because I don't have anyone to distract me…" Hermione smirked, seeing both her friends blush.

"Anyway, I wanted to show you something. Come…" Harry and Ginny headed to the third room with Hermione right after them. She had been wondering what they would do with it. When Harry opened its door, Hermione squealed in joy. "The Blacks have a rather big library and I figured you would want to have access to it." He smiled as his best friend's body collided with his in a tight hug. "Professor McGonagall and professor Flitwick helped us with some incantations so the books that are not reachable will come to you just like Hogwarts' library."

"Oh, Harry! That's wonderful! Thank you!" She entered the room almost crying. From inside, the room had thrice the size it should and had shelves all over the walls and a rather big one creating a secluded area that had a long table and four clearly comfortable chairs mimicking her favorite place at the school's library. Right in the middle of the room, there were four armchairs facing each other with a small table in the middle. Analyzing closely those armchairs, three of them had a Gryffindor emblem embroidered on the cushion.

"Professor McGonagall transfigured the armchairs so they would be just like our favorites at Gryffindor common room…" Ginny said as Hermione touched the badge with her fingers.

"But the fourth…" The brunette begun, thinking out loud. She stopped herself as she understood. "Is it so blatant?"

"I would say yes if my beloved girlfriend wasn't here." Harry said earning an elbow in the ribs from the redhead.

"I still can't believe I didn't notice it before…"

"In your defense, I didn't until I stopped to think." Hermione smiled at her friends. "Thank you, really. This is probably the best gift I could ever wish." They smiled back, as she moved to give them a tight hug. After admiring a little more, the room the three of them said goodnight and went back to their rooms.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! I'm back!  
> I really hope you liked it!  
> Please comment and leave kudos!
> 
> Thank you for reading!


	14. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since it's Wednesday and I said I'd go back to the schedule I set... And I feel bad for making you wait so long: NEW CHAPTER

The next day, Hermione woke before the alarm clock go off and smiled. It was her first day of work. She got up and refreshed herself, before heading downstairs. Mid way, she was greeted with the smell of fresh coffee and waffles. Harry always woke up before her, she reminded herself.

"Good morning…" She said yawning as she got to the kitchen balcony and saw Harry on the other side making eggs and bacon.

"G'morning!" He smiled at her. "Nice pj's…" Hermione blushed, she was wearing shorts and an over sized shirt which were transfigured so they had her house colours and an oversized badge on the shirt front.

"Thanks… Where's Ginny?"

"Sleeping, obviously. She said she will go back home as soon as she wakes up as we will be out most of the day and she knows she won't be up before we go." He smiled.

"Right." She had a cup of coffee on her hands and was slowly taking sips.

"I was going to suggest that we go to the ministry by foot. There is an entrance close from here. And I could use the exercise…"

"Same here."

They had breakfast together and went upstairs to get ready. They left the flat and headed to their first day at the ministry of magic as interns. The entry was, according to Harry, not far but it would still be a nice walk. Both were using muggle clothes but Hermione had shrunk more formal vests for them to wear if really needed.

"'ermione! 'arry!" Hermione heard the french accent and immediately knew who was calling them.

Harry eyed her and smiled. "Relax… Breathe." He said as the stopped and looked back only to see the older Delacour sister running to them, also wearing muggle outfit.

"Bonjour! 'ow 'ave you been?"

"Bonjour, Fleur!" Hermione said, feeling her face getting hot.

"G'Morning! All wonderful! And you?" Harry said, sensing his friend wouldn't be able to answer the blonde question. Hermione's brain seemed to be turning into mush the more she analyzed Fleur's face.

"All right. I'm 'eading to zee ministry, actually. First day."

Hermione felt Harry's hand on her shoulder and snapped back into reality just as Fleur begun to answer him.

"Oh?" Was all she managed to say and she mentally kicked herself. "Right, you said you would begin today too… We should get going. I really don't want to be late…" Really? That was the best she could say? Merlin's beard! The brunette complained to herself as she turned around and shook her head. They began walking once more to the ministry entry.

"You came from zee Leaky Caldron? I understand you don't live in London…"

"We just moved!" Harry smiled. "We actually spent yesterday figuring some issues out and decided to move sooner than we planned."

"Oh…"

"We are sharing a flat. It's right across yours, actually." Hermione smiled, "I forgot to tell you that on Saturday…" She added and soon as she noticed the confusion on the blonde's face.

"You moved yesterday?" Fleur smiled at the other girl as both, Harry and Hermione nodded. "I would probably 'ave noticed eef I left zee 'ouse, but I was razer occupied wiz an incredible muggle book…"

"Oh, right! Sorry for breaking into your place… I did notice you was tired I didn't realize you would be asleep…"

"Not a problem, 'ermione. I wasn't planning on sleeping. As I imagine you could see, I slept while reading."

"What were you reading? If I may ask…" Harry asked, noticing Hermione's curious glance when the blonde said her occupation for the previous day.

"Oh, A Midsummer Night's Dream." The blonde beamed. Harry nodded. Even though his friend didn't tell him what was the book she had brought for Fleur, he instantly knew it was the one. He knew it was Hermione's favorite and didn't need to look at her to know she was quite happy.

"Did you like it? I was hoping you didn't read it already…"

"Eet's one of zee best books I ever read. Zank you, 'ermione. Eet's a wonderful book and story. And 'onestly I believe I only read French muggle auzors…" Fleur was beaming and Hermione mirrored her as the French eloquently praised her favorite book.

Soon the three of them were at the Minister's entry. Hermione grew anxious and nervous so was Harry. The three of them walked through the fireplaces at the entry hall and Fleur excused herself as she had to immediately go to the minister's office. The two friends looked at each other trying to calm themselves and reassuringly smiling to the other.

"I should probably go. I must meet the head of department within ten minutes and I don't exactly know where her office is. Good luck 'Mione! Lunch together if possible?" Harry hugged his friend and went to the general direction he was supposed to as she nodded at the invite and gave him his shrunk vests.

Hermione stood by the fountain for a few more minutes taking in the magical building. When she looked at the huge clock that hovered above all heads at the hall, she gasped. "Shit." And almost raced to the opposite direction Harry had gone. She managed to get to the office she was supposed to go rather quickly and with a couple of minutes to spare and regain her breath. A flick of her wand her robes were back into its normal size and over her muggle clothes. She knocked at the door.

"Come in!" She heard a female voice from inside the room. With a sharp breath, she opened the door. A middle-aged witch with black hair fixed in a tight bun looked at her and instantly stood. "Miss Granger. A pleasure to meet you."

"Equally, Mrs. Lufkin." Hermione shook the witches hand.

"Please seat." She motioned to an empty chair as she sat back into her own. "Tea?" Hermione politely declined the offer. "Well, let's get to business, then. Hermione, if I may…"

"I'd very much prefer, ma'am" The brunette managed do smile at the older woman.

"Evangeline, please." The older witch mirrored the younger smile. "Hermione, I honestly didn't think you would get to work so early after the war. But I'm truly honored to work with you. I personally share your concerns towards the house elves and hope we are able to make some difference. As you might know, Minister Shacklebolt renamed every head of department so they met his expectations. I'm might be new in this post but I've been working here for about fifteen years. You will be my assistant until your return to school. For the time being, we have to revise every law in the department jurisdiction so you will direct the other new interns through it." Seeing the younger's concern shown in her face, she smiled. "I talked to your Headmistress, she made sure to commend your work not only as a learner but as a leader too. The other interns will only begin working in two weeks and by then we will have gone through everything you will need to lead them. That being said, we should get to work."

Hermione got to work, absorbing every new information she found. Her lunch time was spent with Harry and both exchanged their first impressions about their jobs. Harry was glad to have a safe quiet time for the first time in what seemed to be ages and Hermione was rather happy to be learning so much. The day passed rather quickly and soon they once again met by the fountain, robes once again shrunk and safely inside Hermione's purse. They got to the exit and begun their walk home. Hermione's mind ran to Fleur as soon as she got outside the building.

"Fleur said she would have to stay later and apologized for not being able to walk home with us." Harry said as soon as he appeared besides the girl. She looked at him in question. "You actually make a face when you think of her." He smiled. "And we both work at the same department we are bound to cross ways. She went by the office to let me know she wouldn't leave with us." Hermione smiled. Fleur was indeed thoughtful. "Uhm, 'Mione, Molly invited us for dinner to celebrate our first day…"

"Yes, she sent me a message too. I imagined you would agree to it and did too. I actually miss the whole family. Should we get home and get there by Floo?" Harry nodded.

* * *

  

Fleur had a hard day, revising the official training plan with Bill and Shacklebolt. As the three of them decided to take a break and the minister was called back into his office, she looked for Harry in the department and found him at the director's office.

"Excusez moi…" She said, entering the office as it had its door open ajar. Making Harry look up from the book he was reading which she thought to be the one containing the departments rules.

"Oh, hello, Fleur! How has been your day?" He smiled at her, marking where he had stopped reading.

"Wonderful! I've been revising zee training wiz Bill and zee minister. You?"

"Great! Safe and sound once in my life…" He mocked his own unfortunate luck. "It's good to have a quiet time."

"I can imagine… 'arry I should get back, but I wanted to let you know I'll probably be 'ere longer zen you two, so I won't walk wiz you… Sorry…" He nodded. As she turned to leave the room, a purple haired witch entered.

"Fleur!" The woman greeted her with a warm hug. "How have you been?"

"Good. And you? 'ow's zee little one?" Fleur smiled at her as she replied saying her son and husband were quite well. "'ead of department, uh?"

"Kingsley said he needed someone he could trust his life and offered me the job then told me I would have Harry as assistant…" The witch smiled at Harry and again at Fleur who mirrored her.

"I should get going. A pleasure to see you, Tonks! See you tomorrow, Harry?" Fleur left the room after getting a nod from the boy and hugging the other woman once again.

In her way to the office she shared with Bill, her mind wandered to the fierce Gryffindor she managed to make smile earlier that day. At that moment, she decided she would make every possible effort to be a good friend to Hermione. Fleur thought about the mating process and hoped to have the courage to say something to the lioness before she got back to Hogwarts. The rest of her day was spent discussing what new practices they would implement in the training plan. She went back home quite exhausted.

Fleur entered her flat and went straight to her bathroom and begun to prepare a bath for her. While the tub was being filled, she picked the book she had been reading before she begun to read Hermione's present and treated herself with a glass of wine. Soon she was relaxing in her bathtub, reading a previously waterproofed book and sipping her wine. About an hour later, she was on her kitchen, wearing a silk robe and making herself a light supper. The blonde had been longing her bed and complied her desire as soon as she finished eating.

The next few days were quite the same for her as the three were still preparing for the new auror trainees. According to Hermione and Harry, their routine was too the same they had on their first day. It was Friday and Fleur made sure to confirm their meeting after work to discuss what they would do about the war reports before they parted ways that morning. She was growing anxious as time passed even though it wasn't a date. She begun pacing until Bill made her sit on her chair and told her to calm down and that she would be alright. Kingsley looked at them curiously.

"Well, she has a meeting with Hermione in a few hours…" Bill said, trying to explain. The other's man confusion only grew.

"I thought they were friends. That's why I asked them to do the work."

"Zee problem, Kingsley, eez zat I'm attracted to 'er, in a way. We are friends, I 'ope at least."

"Oh, I see…" He smiled at her apologetically.

"Not a major problem. You couldn't know eet." She smiled at him. She couldn't sit still and begun bouncing her knee.

"If you want to leave earlier, there is no problem." Kingsley said, understandingly.

"Non, I'd better 'ave something to occupy my mind."

"Alright." And they continued working. When they called it a wrap, Fleur bid them farewell and went to the atrium level and found her way to the fountain, where they would meet every day to go home together. Soon she was joined by Harry and then by Hermione, carrying a rather big tome. They all looked quite drained.

"'ermione, would you rather meet me zere later so you can rest for a while, or get going?"

"If I get inside, I won't be able to get out again, I'm afraid." The Gryffindor smiled at her. "Harry, could you get this book to my room or the library? It's rather heavy and I will need it during the weekend" The boy nodded and took the book. "Thank you…" She nervously smiled at him. "Oh, I'm sorry! I stipulated what we would be doing without asking you. Do you want to go home first, Fleur?"

"Uh, non. I'm alright." Fleur smiled. "Let's go, zen?" After saying goodbye to Harry, they began their walk to the Leaky Cauldron. They made the short walk in silence, both absorbing the sensation of going somewhere with the other. Fleur more than ever feeling the veela inside her and herself (not that a difference really existed) longing to at least hold hands with the younger woman. The veela walked with pride but even with Hermione right beside her, her mind was in another world. Merlin's beard, she needed to try and make conversation.

"How are your parents doing? I remember them from the Triwizard Championship…" Hermione said, not being able to think of a better subject.

"Très bien. Zey are at zee moment preparing zemselves for Gaby's arrival. Maman ees already complaining zat zee 'ouse eez too quiet but will complain even more two weeks after Gabrielle gets zere…" Fleur chuckled with that notion remembering her sister's antics.

"Oh?"

"Let's just say the twins remind me of her."

"Remind me to never get too serious near her…" Hermione smiled.

"Oui… And your parents?"

"They are great! Mom is really happy that I managed to connect their fireplace to the floo network. Apparently, the ministry developed a charm that keeps the floo from working if any muggle except for them is in the house." Hermione smiled. "She is still getting used to it but it's great." Fleur smiled back at her.

"We always talk about our days in our way back 'ome but I never got to ask you eef you are enjoying zee work…"

"Oh, I love it! I'm actually nervous because I'm supposed to lead the interns until we go to Hogwarts and I just begun…"

"You will be perfect. You are a natural leader, 'ermione." With that Fleur gathered all the courage she had to give the brunette a side hug. To her relief, Hermione didn't flinch nor immediately pulled back, but snuggled closer and held her by her waist. Hermione begun to chuckle shortly after that. "What ees eet?"

"Oh, nothing. It's just that I think that if Skeeter sees us like that she will say I'm hunting Triwizard champions out to date and that you are my latest victim." The brunette said that blushing.

"Not zat I would care…" Fleur felt her own face get hot. "Zat woman ees incapable of telling a true story for 'er life!"

"She did actually. A few months after the Triwizard incident, when the Daily Prophet was slandering Harry and Dumbledore she wrote the true story to the Quibbler."

"'ow you managed zat? Assuming eet was you…"

"I just discovered a secret she didn't want anyone to uncover and made it very clear that I would tell everyone about it if she didn't help…"

"She can be 'onest eef et's for 'er life, zen!" Fleur laughed.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hope you liked it! Please comment and leave kudos!!  
> Thanks for reading!


	15. Chapter 14

They went through the wizarding bar and entered the magical alley, now they weren't holding one another but were closer than before. Both girls entered the café and decided to use the secluded area they had for client's reunions. As they entered the room, they both drew their wands out and with some flicks soundproofed the area. With another flick, Hermione and Fleur enlarged the notes they had made about the battles they had been into and some reports from their comrades. Fleur heard a knock on the door and opened it.

"Oui?" She said to a house elf.

"Miss Delacour it's a pleasure to have you here again!"

"Thank you, Jilpy! 'ow 'ave you been?"

"Great! I'm being paid and well treated here…" Fleur smiled and nodded, she had arranged that job for her. Since she saw the house elf abandoned on one of the few Death Eaters houses she had been in along the week. Jilpy looked past Fleur and saw Hermione watching the exchange closely and smiling. "Forgive my intromission, I see you are in official business. The usual, Miss?"

"Yes, Jilpy, please. 'Ermione, what would you like to drink?"

"Oh, a Mexican Hot Cocoa, please!" The elf nodded and went to the kitchen and Fleur closed the door. "A hired House Elf? How wonderful! You always come here?"

"Oui. Jilpy was zee property of one of zee many death eaters arrested after zee last battle and was abandoned in zee 'ouse. We found 'er while we were restricting zee access to zem until we give clearance from dark magic. I managed to convince zee owner 'ere to employ 'er as she wanted to work and 'ere we are…" Fleur was really proud of it. And to her joy, Hermione beamed at her and gave her a hug.

"That is really brilliant!" They heard a knock once again. The protections they had put in the room kept the house elf from apparating inside. Hermione pulled back to open the door and Fleur almost whined from the lack of contact. "Thank you, Jilpy!"

"You are the Miss Granger Dobby talks about all the time!" The house elf said looking at her after handling the hot beverages.

"Oh?"

"It's a pleasure to meet you!" The house elf bowed to her. Hermione smiled and mirrored the action, having learned much about their culture since she tried founding SPEW. Her actions made the elf smile. "The cups are enchanted so they will be refilled with a touch of your wands, despite the protective spells. I made sure to protect the link to the kitchen too, don't worry." Jilpy bowed again and got back to work.

"That was lovely!" Hermione smiled, closing the door and carefully taking a sip of her hot cocoa.

Hermione sat across from Fleur and they began to work. Turns out that Kingsley wanted full reports since the Triwizard Tournament. From the DA, reports since its foundation. They both spent good four hours studying the reports they had. Hermione had written reports of the first year of the DA and had asked Harry, Ginny and Luna to do the same. The minister suggested that she choose another two to write the reports besides Harry and herself and requested a report from every member present at the ministry battle. After the battle, he said three reports would be sufficient. Fleur had some reports of her comrades and a few of her own. They both had silently agreed that each would revise the others work. Looking at the clock, Fleur startled.

"I believe we should stop now… Eet's getting late." She said. Hermione looked at her a little confused than to the clock.

"Yes, we should get going…"

"'ungry?" Fleur decided to make a move. But convinced herself it wasn't a date. Before Hermione could answer, Fleur's stomach growled. "Apparently coffee eesn't enough for me…" She added, blushing a little. Merlin! She was indeed a blushing pudding near the younger woman.

"I'd love to. I believe Harry won't complain… Ginny is home today, so you can figure…" She conjured her patronus and sent it to harry in order to let him know about the plans. A few minutes later, they were leaving the cafe and a patronous hind approached them, and its message was whispered in Hermione's ear. Fleur pretended she hadn't noticed the other woman's face get bright red and begun walking again as the animal vanished.

"'arry?"

"No… Ginny. Her patronus used to be a horse but changed since they began dating, I believe. Harrys is a stag… She says hi and thank you, by the way."

Fleur nodded. She had read about patronuses while in school and remembered reading something about its corporeal forms and how they could change to match the mate's. She knew the two Gryffindors were mates and that information only confirmed it.

"Oh, that mating isn't something exclusive for the veelas then?" Hermione asked, when Fleur shared her thoughts about the couple.

"Non. Zee mating ees simply a soul choosing someone to love forever. For zee veelas eets stronger, obviously, but eet exists to everyone. Full veelas are able to see zee strings linking each person easier. I can only see a faint glow when I see mated people." Hermione was looking at the veela, absorbing every ounce of knowledge she could. Fleur smiled at her as they crossed eyes. "Where would you like to eat?"

"I believe we could eat at muggle London, it's friday and every single restaurant here will be full. And I really hate the attention…"

"I know just zee place. I'll side apparate with you zere." Fleur took the brunette's hand after she agreed and they both vanished from the street with a low pop.

* * *

The confusion was obvious on Hermione's face as she took in her surroundings..

"Fleur?"

"Oui?"

"Why are we in your flat?"

"You said you didn't want strangers' attention and I felt like cooking." Fleur smiled and moved to the kitchen, motioning to Hermione to follow her.

Hermione damned herself for not being able to keep a sleeping Fleur from her mind as she caught a glimpse of the blonde's couch. And followed her to the kitchen.

"Do you need any help?"

"Non, I 'ave all under control. Just sit over zere and get comfortable." Fleur said, smiling at her and motioning to one of the high benches by the kitchen counter. With a flick of her wand, Fleur made a glass of water cautiously land in front of her.

"What are you making?" Hermione curiously asked a moment later.

"Risotto aux champignons. I hope you like it."

"I love mushrooms!" They smiled at each other and Fleur got back to preparing the food.

Only a minute later Hermione caught herself staring at Fleur's butt. She shook her head and tried to keep her eyes from the blonde, knowing she would stare again if she looked at Fleur. Soon the brunette was once again starring at the older woman and unconsciously started to wander how it would feel to touch Fleur in the way she really wanted.

"'Ermione, 'ow do you like your steak?" The blonde asked without looking at her. Hermione deeply blushed as she heard her call her name.

"Uh, Medium to rare…"

"Ok." A few moments later, Fleur got out of the kitchen and cleared the table so they could have dinner and retrieved a bottle of wine from a nearby room. That being done, she entered the kitchen once again and served them. Holding both plates, Fleur went back to the table and pulled a chair for Hermione. The brunette couldn't help but stare at the blonde the whole time and was under the impression she was swaying more than she used to. That thought was quickly dismissed by Hermione. Why would she do that, anyway? The brunette sat and Fleur graciously moved to sit before her. They quietly ate both minds wandering. As Hermione finished, she made sure to praise Fleur for her cooking ability. They spent some time chatting than Hermione begun to grow tired and decided to leave. She had noticed that Fleur was too and insisted that they should get some rest. Hermione got back home silently determined not to tell neither Harry nor Ginny about the dinner she shared with Fleur. The house was actually silent and she got to her room praying that her friends would not hear her. That night, Hermione tossed and turned as every time she closed her eyes she saw the blonde swaying and imagined being able to touch her and kiss those French lips. The next day she was ambushed by Ginny, who entered her room as soon as she heard Hermione getting to her bathroom.

"Soooo?!" The redhead asked excitedly.

"So?"

"How did it go? You know you owe me the details! I told you everything about my first date with Harry… Come one!"

"You gave me the details of your own free will. Besides, nothing happened. Also, not a date!" Hermione felt her face get hot.

"And that's why you are blushing?" Laughed Ginny with a raised eyebrow.

"Really, nothing happened! It's just that…" Ginny now had her brows almost reaching her hair line. "I observed her the whole night and that kind of turned me on. And, uhm, I can't stop myself from picturing myself kissing and holding her!" Hermione said the last part with a sigh.

"Seriously? That's it?"

"I'm not really used to it, Gin. I figure I never really liked any boy, it seems I didn't really think about girls enough because of school and those two trouble makers…"

"'Mione, that's quite normal! Everyone does that when are attracted to someone." Hermione sat on her bed, trying to calm herself, and Ginny sat by her hugging her. "Anyway, breakfast is ready and Harry is also curious about your night but I'm sure he won't ask anything. Let's go." The redhead squeezed the other woman's arm and moved to the door.

Hermione hoped these feeling would go away after a day or two, to no avail. Every time she saw the blonde walking in front of her, her imagination filled her head with sensations and pictures of her kisses. She gave up trying to control it two weeks later, when she got home from their meeting feeling hot and quite aroused for simply looking at the older woman.

About a month later, Hermione felt like she was getting better at ignoring her thoughts towards Fleur and was looking forward and dreading going to her last year in Hogwarts. Not seeing the blonde every day would help controlling herself but she was completely sure she would madly miss being able to talk to her every day and being near her. With all that mixed feelings, Hermione sat on her desk, locked on her room and begun writing in hope to make some sense. "I must be completely mental." She said, reading what she had just wrote. Another month passed and she was home after a tiring day of work. She and Harry had got back an hour ago and none had gathered the courage to go change nor to make something they could eat. They had taken off their shoes and instantly sat side by side on the couch looking nowhere. The fireplace lighted up and Ginny appeared.

"Mom sent food. Apparently, Ron saw you two leaving and told her, she made you some food so you wouldn't need to cook. I managed to convince her to let me bring it…" The redhead said, carrying the food to the kitchen and casting a warming charm on it. Coming back to the living room, she noticed none of them had moved. "Hey!" She said, making both snap back to reality. "There's food. But you two better go change!" They nodded and got to their rooms. Once back down, Hermione and Harry properly greeted the redhead.

"I never thought administrative work would drain me this much." Hermione sighed.

"I know, Tonks is making me work madly quick so I don't have much to do while in Hogwarts."

"Wait, you two will work while in school? How will that even work?" Ginny asked.

"No idea. Evangeline is also making me work more than ever… I figure they are negotiating with professor McGonagall." The three had eaten and now Hermione was laying on the couch while Harry sat with his girlfriend's head in his lap, the girl was mirroring her friend's position. Hermione remembered the note she received from Fleur, excusing herself from the meeting they were supposed to have that day, given it was Friday, because she would have to work late. She realized she hadn't replied her and conjured her patronus to send her apologies. Once the otter got outside the room, she got up, deciding she could call it a night.

"It's Friday, isn't it?" Harry asked Ginny, who nodded. "'Mione, don't you have a meeting with Fleur?"

"She said she would have to work late tonight."

"Now that I think about it, I didn't see neither her or Bill at work today. Apparently, someone else taught the auror trainees today."

"Yes, she said something about having to secure a few more death eater's houses."

"Oh…"

"Good night you two. I'm so tired I think I'll pass out the minute I get to bed." Hermione said, getting upstairs. "Remember to cast a silencing spell this time for fuck sake!" She shouted from her bedroom door.

"Yes, ma'am! And good night!" Ginny answered giggling as Harry's face turned bright red.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! So, Hermione catching up not only with her feelings but with her needs... I hope you liked it! Next chapter will be long (I guess), Wednesday brings some news and partying! 
> 
> Thanks for reading! Please comment and leave kudos!
> 
> ;3


	16. Chapter 15

The following day they sat comfortably having brunch and discussing silly things when a large owl entered the window and flew towards them. It landed in front of Hermione and she gave the owl a treat after retrieving three well known envelopes.

“Our letters?” Ginny asked and Hermione nodded. “I’ll let mom know. Do you want to buy the books today? She will probably come as soon as I tell her.”

“I suppose we could.” Harry answered as Hermione nodded. Ginny got up and leaned into the fireplace in order to let her mother know about the letters and that they would go shopping later that day. When she got back, Hermione gave her the letter. The three letters felt strangely heavy to Hermione. As they motioned to open them, a face appeared in the fireplace.

“Hey, Lun! Come on in!” Ginny, who was nearer, greeted the face.

“Are you going shopping today?” The face that resembled Luna asked.

“As soon as mom gets here.”

“Okay. I’m going with you, if you don’t mind…”

“Sure.”

In a moment, Luna’s full body appeared in the fireplace. Holding her letter still untouched. The four of them opened the letters.

“Oh, I’m prefect once again!” Luna smiled. “I imagine who will be the Head Girl and Boy…”

“I suppose it’s someone from your year. Harry and I are supposedly no electable for it nor any of the others who are coming back from our year.” Hermione said, smiling at the blonde and realizing that the weight of Ginny’s envelope probably meant she was also prefect again.

“Uhm, Gin? Are you okay?” Harry looked at her girlfriend, worried. The girl was looking at her letter and clinging at the envelope. She looked up and slowly nodded, smiling. Luna looked over the redhead’s shoulder and squealed.

“Congratulations, Ginny!” The blonde hugged her friend from behind which caused the ginger to snap back to reality. Looking at the other two in the room who had confusion written in their faces, Ginny grinned.

“I’m the new Head Girl!”

“Merlin’s Beard! That’s brilliant!” Hermione squealed and ran to her friend so she could congratulate her with a tight hug.

“Excuse me! Let me congratulate my brilliant girlfriend!” Harry said laughing as he managed to detach Hermione from Ginny. He hugged her tight and kissed her.

“What’s the occasion?” Mrs. Weasley asked as she entered the room, followed by Mr. Weasley.

“Ginny is Head Girl!” Hermione promptly answered. Mr. Weasley immediately applauded his daughter and Mrs. Weasley begun to cry.

“I’m so proud of you!” The older woman managed to say as she hugged her daughter.

Shortly they were at the Alley, shopping. Hermione, Harry and Luna calmly following the excited three Weasleys.

“Have you read your letter yet?” Harry asked his friend.

“No, I have it with me, though.” Hermione answered.

“Yeah…”

They fell into comfortable silence, thinking about the following year. Each of them completely aware that the other two besides them were also having the same thoughts. After they brought everything listed on their letters, the group decided to make a stop before heading to Hermione’s and then to the Burrow as Mrs. Weasley insisted in making a dinner in celebration to Ginny. Unconsciously, or not so much, Hermione led them to the cafe she and Fleur went every Friday.

“It’s really cozy. I bet you will love it!” She said to the matriarch as they walked towards it. As they entered the place, the house elf she had grown to know well approached happily.

“Miss Granger! We missed you and Miss Delacour yesterday, something wrong?”

“Oh, no, Jilpy! Everything is okay. Fleur just needed to work after hours so we skipped the meeting.” Hermione smiled at the elf. “Jilpy, these are Molly, Arthur and Ginny Weasley, Luna Lovegood and Harry Potter.” The elf made a deep bow at all of them and smiled when the three younger corresponded the gesture and the elder nodded.

“It’s a pleasure to meet you! Would you like the reserved section, Miss Granger? It’s vacant.”

“There is no need…”

“Table for six, then. Follow me.”

When they sat down, the menu was distributed to all of them and a few moments later Jilpy was back to take the orders. When she left, Luna inquired Hermione about the elf and she explained happily.

They were halfway through their drinks when Hermione saw the glimmer of a well-known platinum hair entering the cafe. She smiled. Harry noticed the change of mood of his friend and followed her gaze as did Ginny and Luna. Soon he was waving to her, trying to get her attention.

“Oh, ’ello! ‘ow are you? Long time…”

“Hello Fleur!” Arthur greeted her and soon everyone in the table was talking to her.

“Sorry, I see you are in a family gathering. I’ll leave you be.”

“Bloomer! We are just taking a break from shopping.” Luna said.

Hermione had been quiet all the while the Blonde was talking to them. Unable to trust her tongue to say the right thing. Decided to explain.

“Our Hogwarts letters arrived this morning…”

“And Ginny is the new Head Girl!” Harry completed the information.

“I assume eet’s an important position… Congratulations, Ginny!”

“Fleur, sit down, dear. Join us.” Mrs. Weasley said, smiling. Shortly Fleur had her usual beverage in hand and they were all happily chatting.

When they had all finished their drinks, Molly tried to pay everyone’s beverage but it turned out Hermione had gotten up a few moments after finishing her own drink and payed for everything.

“I know it’s short notice, but do you want to join us celebrating Ginny?” Mrs. Weasley asked Fleur as they left the cafe. Hermione noticed Fleur glance at her best friend and saw the latest beam and nod.

“Sure. I just need to go ‘ome for a while. I just got back from zee ministry. Bill and I spent zee morning on field and had to report to zee minister.”

“I see. We will be waiting you then.”

“Harry, I completely forgot I need to buy an owl, would you help me choosing?” Hermione realized she wanted to buy a present to Ginny and hoped to get away with this bogus excuse.

“Sure.” Harry smiled. Ginny began saying she would help too when Mrs. Weasley grabbed her hand and dragged her complaining about how the two of them seemed to be attached by the hip these days. When they were at a safe distance, Harry faced Hermione: “What should we get her?”

“I should be the one asking you that!” Hermione laughed.

“Quidditch supplies?”

“Yes, I believe it would be for the best…”

“Where are zee Weasleys?” Fleur had been talking to the owner of the cafe and approached them.

“We needed time to get a present to Ginny and ‘Mione made up an excuse. Thankfully, Molly dragged Gin home with her. Now we have to figure out what to give her.” Harry promptly answered.

“It was actually true. I need an owl, I just don’t exactly need help picking it up…”

“And what are you zinking about? Eef I may ask. Zee present, I mean.”

“Something with quidditch. I risk saying she is even a bigger fan than Ronald…” Hermione said. “We could give her a new broom? Since she got an owl from Molly…”

“May I join you in zee present? I have no idea of what to give ‘er.”

“Sure.” Harry said.

As they entered the Quality Quidditch Supplies shop and brought a Firebolt, which still was the best on the store. Hermione decided to buy a book about the team Ginny loved so much, one she was pretty sure the redhead didn’t have and Harry got a servicing kit too. They apparated home promising not to take too long. An hour later, Fleur knocked on their door so they could go together.

The night was pleasant but Hermione couldn’t keep her eyes from Fleur. She was thanking every single possible God of every culture she knew that the night was over but the moment she stepped inside her flat, she missed the older woman madly. She was beginning to question her sanity by then. She had faked a headache so she could go home earlier. Hermione got to her room, prepared herself to sleep and remembered that she was yet to read the rest of the own letter. She sat on the armchair she had on her room and retrieved the letter from her purse with a flick of her wand.

> _Dear Miss Granger Black,_
> 
> _As current Headmistress, I have been presented with the task of deciding if you will be able to continue your internship during your last year in Hogwarts. I personally believe you are completely capable of once again having a perfect score at your tests while working at the ministry.  I hope you prove me right. Along with your work I believe you and Miss Delacour aren’t finished reporting the war, so you are expected to do so. Given you will have so many responsibilities, you will have a permanent free pass for after hours and that will be communicated to the prefects by the Head Boy and Girl._
> 
> _Also, being a war hero and an employed alumnus, you are given a new room. Notice your quarters will be linked to the Gryffindor common room but will also have an external access. As you and Mr. Potter share a flat in London I believe you will have no problem sharing a living room. Once arrived in Hogwarts, after the welcoming feast you and Mr. Potter must direct yourselves to your quarters and change the password. The living room’s fireplace is fully connected to the Floo network and I strongly advise you to charm it so only authorized people will be able to access it. You and Mr. Potter have special permission to leave the school if needed, but you need to inform me about your absence._
> 
> _That being said, I’d like to welcome you back._
> 
> _Yours sincerely,_
> 
> _Minerva McGonagall_
> 
> _Headmistress_
> 
> _P.S.: I hope you and our Head Girl will be able to keep Mr. Potter from trouble and in line._

Hermione finished reading the letter and sighed. She was actually relieved with the news but quite worried given the enormous amount of responsibilities she would have. Hermione decided to sleep and flicked the lights off after laying down.

A week after was Harry’s birthday. He had agreed on leaving the preparations of the party to Ginny, who insisted she would throw the best party he ever had. Not that it was a hard thing to do, given he spent his previous birthday either with the Dursley or being attacked by death eaters. After the war, they all felt like celebrating, although Harry felt quite guilty for being alive. Hermione and Ginny knew Harry well enough to know that if Ginny didn’t take the responsibility of organizing the party, he wouldn’t do anything. The brunette received a note from her friend the day before, asking her if she could get Harry out of the house for about two hours and now she was dragging Harry out of the door after having lunch with him and Ginny, who pretended not to know what she was up to.

“Hermione! Where the hell are we going?” He asked loudly.

“I need company to buy clothes and you need new ones.” She answered.

Harry rolled his eyes and stopped resisting. Two hours later, they were heading back to the house with an enormous amount of shopping bags. As they entered the flat, Hermione noticed Ginny had completely changed the furniture, the couch was gone as well as the bookcases and apparently, she had transfigured the dinner table into a longer one that stood by the side of the room holding a big variety of drinks and foods.

“Good, you are here!” The redhead sighted as she saw them both. “Thank you, Mione.”

“Anytime, Gin!” Hermione nodded, grinning.

“We should get ready. They will arrive in about an hour.” Ginny said, looking at Hermione and grabbing her arm. “Harry, you should go too!” He just nodded, still taking in the room.

* * *

Harry got ready in less than half an hour and settled downstairs, wearing plain white shirt and black trousers and knowing he should greet the guests that arrived. He decided to read a little bit and sat at one of the small tables Ginny scattered around the room. Fifteen minutes later, he heard the doorbell.

“Hi Fleur! How are you doing?” He said, as he opened the door a let the blonde enter the room.

“Quite good! And you?” She answered, looking around.

“She’s not ready yet.” He said, making her look at him. “I guess she and Ginny will be here any moment. They are almost late” He added, looking at the clock. Fleur nodded.

“Oh! ‘appy birthday!” She fully turned to him and hugged him. After they pulled back, she gave him the gift she had brought for him.

A few moments later, Ginny and Hermione met them downstairs. As soon as Fleur saw Hermione she was in awe. The brunette wore a simple black dress but was barefoot just like Ginny and Harry, she didn’t promptly notice the other, though. With a few sharp breaths, she recovered enough to look at the other girl and praise them both. Ginny had also chosen a black dress. Hermione blushed a lot when she heard the compliment.

“You look good too, Fleur.” Ginny said, Hermione nodded. Fleur was wearing a blue dress that clung to her body in all the right places, its color remembered her of Beauxbatons’ uniform and she knew it would bring up the color of her eyes. “And you can take off your heels if you like…” Fleur stopped to think for a minute, walked to the corner Ginny suggested she could leave her shoes and drew off the heels.

In a couple of minutes the fireplace begun to lit up and allow every guest to the party. Hermione, as Fleur observed, lined up with Harry and Ginny to welcome everyone. She actually knew all of them, most of them were already attending Hogwarts when she visited the castle in Harry’s fourth year and the rest of the guest consisted basically of Order Members. She greeted everyone and forced herself to look anywhere but Hermione. Within about half an hour, of her tragically failing on her only task for the night, Bill approached her with a smirk as he got closed to her, he raised an eyebrow.

“Your mate look quite good, Fleur but I think you need some air right now.”

“Uh, why ees zat?” She looked straight into his eyes and saw him rolling his eyes.

“And here I thought you were in complete control of you body and transformations…” Fleur startled and noticed her vision was sharper than usual. The redhead nodded.

“Merde! Would you be a dear and get me glass of water, Bill? I’m ‘eaded to zee balcony.” He agreed and they parted ways, Fleur stopping by the restroom so she could look at herself in the mirror. The Fleur she saw in the mirror was a raw version of herself, one she had seen only when she was livid or years before, when she couldn’t control her veela instincts. Physically the only change that occurred was the color of her eyes, they were now deep orange. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. How the hell she didn’t notice the change? She was too focused failing on keeping her eyes from Hermione and didn’t notice how aroused she was from the mere sight of the brunette. With a few more deep breaths she managed to make the color of her eyes go back to the usual dark blue. She sighted, now fully conscious of her body thanks to the technique she used to change back. The second took a step closer to the sink so she could wash her face, she regretted. She had just become fully aware of how much Hermione had turned her on (she was probably too worried when she made her way to the bathroom to notice).

She startled as she heard a knock on the door.

“Oui?” She heard her own voice sound harsh.

“Sorry, Fleur. Are you all right? I saw you hurry in.” Harry’s voice sounded through the door.

“Yes, ‘arry. I’m fine. I’ll be out in a minute.” Obviously, she had no choice but to ignore her needs for now. She opened the door with a sigh after looking at her reflection one last time. Seeing Harry standing outside with a worried look, she forced herself to smile at him and walked as calmly as possible to the balcony in order to find Bill (walking was rather uncomfortable). She didn’t allow her eyes to roam through the room and managed to get to the redheaded. He was leaning on the rail, facing the party. She sighed and hid her face on her hands as soon as she got to him. Fleur was highly ashamed of her lack of self-control so she avoided his gaze, looking to the stars.

“That bad?” He said, chuckling.

“I’m ‘opelessly drawn to ‘er and I don’t even know eef she likes me. I mean, more zan just as a friend.” Her accent growing thicker as she grew frustrated with herself.

“Calm down, Fleur.”

“I should ‘ave imagined she would dress fancier. Eet’s ‘er best friend’s birzday after all. I mean, even I did. I was caught off guard and I wouldn’t ‘ave noticed eef not for you. Zank you, by zee way.”

“Shit happens. Just please promise me to stop torturing yourself and ask her out soon. It’s not good for you. Your veela heritage…”

“Maman sent you a letter.”

“Yes, she is worried that’s all. She explained me what she could about how you would start behaving if you don’t take action and wait until after her school year.”

“Oui, I won’t wait. I’m just afraid she doesn’t feel zee same for me and I don’t even know eef she considered being wiz anozer woman.”

“You won’t find out any of these if you don’t ask.”

“I know. I could use some of zat Gryffindor courage…” Fleur sighted as Bill hugged her.

The rest of the party went on quite well. Fleur got a hold of her veela and managed to suppress her eyes transformation. Controlling herself required so much energy from Fleur that after leaving the party she could only get to bed and pass out, thank god the weekend had just began. About noon next day, Fleur woke up to a consistent noise. Nonstop knocking. No one ever came to her apartment and those who did had instant access thanks to the charm she had casted on the door. She had added so a few permissions these last days but actually the only person that had ever came unexpected was Bill and he knew he had access. Sighing she reached for a robe and went to answer the door. She yawned as she opened the door. To her shock, Hermione stood on the other side, her face quite reddened. She couldn’t help but smile.

“Bonjour, ‘ermione.” Fleur stepped aside to let the other woman in.

“Bonjour… Were you sleeping?”

“Oui,” Hermione began to apologize, “but I actually should ‘ave been awake by now. No problem.”

“I’m sorry anyway. I was just worried, you left kind of pale yesterday. I just wanted to see if you were okay.” The brunette said with a faint smile.

“Yes. I was just exhausted, I didn’t work zee ‘ole day but zee morning was quite strenuous. Probably why I overslept. Eet’s almost lunchtime, right?” Fleur was still a little dizzy from waking up so quickly. Hermione just nodded. “I guess I’ll skip breakfast zen. But a cup of coffee might be in order…” The veela was basically reasoning out loud. “Uh, would you like some? Or you prefer tea? Now that I come to think I’ve never seen you drink coffee…” She begun to move to the kitchen and motioned to Hermione follow her.

“I’ll take the tea, I guess… Yeah, I don’t really like coffee…”

“That’s probably because you never tasted French coffee…” Fleur looked to Hermione with a smile only to find Hermione blushing a little. After the tea was ready, she gave the mug to the brunette and begun to prepare her own coffee. Once ready, they headed back to the living room.

They sat there for about two hours talking about everything they could think, probably to keep the thoughts of kissing each other. And that thought had been on Fleur’s mind since the other woman entered the flat. Hermione left when she saw the late time, apologizing for not being able to stay and have lunch with Fleur because she had to meet her parents as it had been almost a month she didn’t visit them. Fleur sat there, cursing herself for not being able to either act on her feelings nor talk about it with Hermione. She knew that holding back her feelings would probably make her get sick but not even that notion gave her courage to say anything to her. She was aware that they were now quite good friends and didn’t want to risk that.

A month later nothing had changed, Fleur was quite certain she was the biggest coward in the history of veela and was yet unable to make any move to change that. In three days, Hermione would leave to Hogwarts and even though she knew the brunette would be allowed to meet with her from time to time to discuss the reports they were supposed to deliver in four months, Fleur felt the veela inside her growl in frustration every time she thought about it. It was long past midnight and she was yet to sleep, she tossed and turned the entire night only being able to sleep from exhaustion as the sun came out. Thankfully it was Sunday and she would be able to oversleep even though she had scheduled dinner with Hermione to discuss some last-minute things they had to before she went to the wizarding school. They wouldn’t be able to meet before the brunette boarded the train, given she would work on the field with the auror trainees that whole week. Even having slept after the sun had risen, Fleur woke up about two hours before the time she used to have lunch. With a sigh, she rose from the bed stretching a little and went to the kitchen to prepare a cup of coffee for her and retrieve a croissant for a quick breakfast. After that, she served herself again with the dull liquid and headed to her bathroom to take a long calming bath as her nerves had only grown since the day before.

Six hours later she opened a bottle of wine so she could have a glass while cooking. She had cooked a lot for Hermione as they were now used to meet at Fleur’s to discuss the report and she insisted on making dinner for both. She had decided to make pasta for them, actually she would make the same food she had done the first time she had been in her house. A few minutes later, a knock on the front door announced Hermione arrival along with her voice from outside calling the blonde. She smiled, it was always good to see the brunette outside workplace and, even though being about work, as it was the case. She told her to come in, not being able to leave the kitchen.

“Fleur?!” She heard the brunette call for her after closing the door behind herself.

“In zee kitchen!”

“Hi!” Hermione entered the kitchen to greet her. They had an unspoken agreement that the brunette wouldn’t cook as both knew about her inability to do so. The younger woman took a glass from one of the kitchen cabinets and filled it with wine, refilling Fleur’s too. “What are we having?”

“Chicken breast wiz bacon and pesto pasta.”

“Lacked creativity?” Hermione said mockingly with one brow risen. “No problem, I just love that one.”

“Good. I’m not changing zee menu.” Fleur laughed. They had evolved to be more carefree between each other, mocking each other. The veela liked that but was completely conscious that it was just a way to cope with her feelings. At least from her end. Not that it worked very well.

* * *

Hermione entered the flat asking herself where the veela was.

“Fleur?!”

“In zee kitchen!” She heard the other answer.

After greeting her and getting a glass of wine for herself, she sat by the counter. They talked until the food was ready that way, Fleur cooking and she drinking wine by the counter. She set the table and they had dinner and talked a little, avoiding anything related to work until they cleaned the table. Then they got to business and discussed the last reports they had received from their comrades. When they finished, Hermione sat in silence for a second.

“I guess that’s it.” She said.

“Oui…”

“Oh, we should schedule our next meeting. So I can let professor McGonagall know about it…”

“Yes, but you should get some time to get used to being back to school…”

“It takes about a week.” Hermione smiled.

“And you will be working.”

“Okay, two weeks. The work is basically studying, anyway…”

“I ‘onestly can give you ‘ow much time you need…” Fleur reasoned.

Hermione couldn’t help but smile at the blonde. She knew she would be completely used to her schedule by the end of the first week there. And she was conscious that she wasn’t willing to go more than two weeks without seeing the other woman.

“Seriously, two weeks is more than necessary. I swear!”

“As you wish…” Fleur smiled. She seemed to be relieved.

“We see each other in two weeks then?” Fleur nodded. “We just need to decide where…”

“‘ow about we do eet zrough owl?” It was her turn to nod.

Hermione looked at the clock on the wall and startled. “It’s quite late and you will have a busy day from what you told me. And that’s all Ronald is able to talk about these days… I have to work tomorrow myself. I should go.” Fleur nodded. Hermione was too engrossed with her own sadness to notice Fleur’s, but it was written on her eyes. With a flick of her wand the papers scattered across the table arranged themselves into two piles and she put them in her bag.

“See you in two weeks, zen. ‘ave a good journey.” Fleur smiled at her and hugged her.

Hermione made everything possible to make the hug last, she was quite comfortable. In a last minute decision, she decided something. As she pulled back, she kissed Fleur’s cheek. That was the closest she was able to do with the courage she had at the moment. But she had kissed quite close to the blonde’s lips. Then she turned around, opened the door and left. She felt her face grow hotter as she thought about that moment.

She had almost kissed Fleur.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I must confess that the chapter actually had a normal length so I joined the next one (that was rather short) just because I kind of promised a longer one.  
> Anyway, now it has a great cliffhanger (please don’t kill me, the one next will be up by Saturday as scheduled)  
> Did you like it?  
> An aroused Fleur…  
> Please comment and leave kudos!  
> Thanks for reading!  
>  ;3


	17. Chapter 16

Fleur stood dumbstruck looking at the building’s hallway. She noticed her vision sharpen and the veela inside her howl in anticipation for something that wouldn’t come.

“Merde!” She muttered as she snapped back after the vision change. She closed the door.

What did that mean? Was that an accident or some sort of sign from the other girl? Merde! Merde! Merde! She definitely had a lot to think about until they meet again. And that was obviously too long. She decided to go to bed and try to sleep although she knew she would not be able to. Two hours later she was laying on her bed completely unable to sleep. Only half an hour later she decided to take a sleeping draught.

* * *

Hermione got home quickly and widely smiling, her face completely red. Something that didn’t pass in blank to either Ginny or Harry. They exchanged looks.

“Spill!” Ginny said, looking at her friend with a raised brow. She and Harry had been reading, both closed the books and watched Hermione closely. Ginny, who had been laying on the couch with her feet on Harry’s lap, sat straight. The brunette sighted and sat on the armchair across from her friends and begun to tell what happened from the moment she had gotten to Flour’s flat.

“Then I kissed her…”

“WHAT? You kissed her?” Excited that her friend had the courage to do so, Ginny shouted interrupting Hermione.

“On the cheek.” She completed.

“Oh…” Ginny said, the excitement lost somewhere. “And then?”

“I, uh, left.”

“Oi? You just left? Why?” Harry heard everything in silence but was not a little confused.

“I kissed her on the cheek, but seriously it was so close to her lips that if I moved less than an inch I would get them…” Hermione’s face grew even more red as she explained. “Then I left because… Well I don’t really know.”

“Oh!” Ginny was now smiling madly. “Good one…”

“Sorry?” Harry was now even more confused than before.

“Yeah, she kind of gave her a sign she wants something with Fleur…” Harry nodded as his girlfriend explained.

“I don’t even know if she will get that. Being French.” The brunette muttered.

“But the kisses are on the cheek and quite far from the lips and you know that.” Ginny got up from where she was and closed the distance between them. The redhead hugged her friend to reassure it was fine. “Come on, it will be okay, ‘Mione!” Harry nodded.

Hermione yawned. “I should get to sleep…” She got up and got to her room, saying goodnight to her friends. She too had to take a sleeping draught.

Two days later, Hermione was yet to get the story from her head. As they headed to the Hogwarts Express, she thought about that. What if she didn’t understand and thought it had been an accident?

“‘Mione?” She snapped back after being called and realized she was already inside the train, sharing a cabin with Harry, Ginny and Luna. “Luna and I have to go to the front compartment to meet the other prefects after the train leaves…”

“Okay…” She nodded.

A few minutes later, the train left the station and the redhead and the blonde left Harry and Hermione alone. They both wished they had been left alone, at least.  Apparently, the word that Harry Potter and Hermione Granger had been seen boarding the express had spread between the students and soon the hall in front of their compartment was filled with curious students looking through the glass. They both felt like they were being held in a zoo but had no will to risk being seen as snobs by closing the shades. Within half an hour, they saw everyone flee from where they stood. Curiously, they looked into the hallway. Ginny stood halfway from the compartment she had been, with an angry expression. When they opened the door, they were able hear the last part of her rant.

“…It’s not a zoo, they are not animals. They are students just like any of you! Respect them!” Hermione smiled at Harry. “And if I see any of you standing in front of that compartment be sure I will deduct points from your houses! Yes, even before the beginning of the year!” Ginny had her uniform on since she left their compartment and if proudly carried the Head Girl badge. Luna was by her side, dreamingly smiling, and the Hufflepuff prefect of their year stood a little further back. She turned to him, “See you later, Lorcan.” Hermione and Harry smiled thankfully at Ginny as she and Luna got into the compartment.

“I think you just terrified most of them, Gin. But thanks.” Harry said, laughing.

“It’s nothing. We will have to leave to make rounds, but we are free for now, what do you want to do?”

“Exploding Snaps?” Hermione suggested, to which they all agreed. And so, they spent the whole travel chatting, playing cards and eating some candy. When they were near the stop, Hermione and Harry changed and once again Luna and Ginny had to leave in order to supervise everyone getting off the train. In less than half an hour the train came to a complete stop. As Hermione and Harry got off, they heard Hagrid calling the first years. They smiled to each other, remembering their first year.

“Harry! Hermione! How yeh’re doin’?” He said as soon as he saw them. They approached him and greeted him. Soon Hagrid left with the newbies and they were waiting for Ginny and Luna so they could get one of the last carriages to get to the castle. A few moments later they were all inside a carriage going to the castle.

They entered the Great Hall and went to their tables, Luna biding them farewell. About five minutes later, they saw the first years enter the room, following professor Sprout. Hermione saw the little girl that talked to her on the leaky caldron, Moire, whom beamed as she saw her. She waved to the girl, making Harry and Ginny look at the girl and then to her. The moment the girl saw her friends, she clearly squealed. After the girl passed, Hermione explained in a hush tone what had transpired that day. The sorting ceremony begun and the cheered loudly every time someone got to Gryffindor, and Hermione cheered louder than any of them when Moire was sorted to the scarlet house. That made her remind what Fleur had said about the girl. The girl practically ran to Hermione, surprising her and making her laugh. Moire sat beside the brunette, beaming.

“Hello, Moire!” Hermione smiled at her.

“Hi!”

“Moire, uh? I’m Harry.”

“Yeah, I know. And you are Ginny?” The even year-old nodded to harry and turned to Ginny. “I’m really happy that I got to meet you!”

“Pleasure to meet you!” Harry and Ginny answered, smiling at her. With that they felt silent, as the Sorting ceremony went on. After that, McGonagall welcomed everyone and the feast begun. Following what professor Dumbledore used to do, the headmistress made the full welcome speech after dinner. She honored those who died in the battle and during war and apologized to the Slytherins for preventing them from helping to protect the school, welcomed the newly employed professors and gave them all the warnings needed. When she dismissed them, the three of them guided the new Gryffindors to the tower. As they got there, Hermione and Harry excused themselves so they could change the passwords to their quarters.

“She is cute.” harry said, as they got out of the common room and approached the painting McGonagall pointed out to be the entrance their common room. It was a painting of Joan D’arc and she was quite more pleasant then the Fat Lady. As the head mistress had told them to do, they said the preset password and then changed to one they both agreed, which was Padfoot. Turns out they only needed one, since the painting that gave them access from the Gryffindor common room was the same one. When they entered the room, they casted the spells needed to prevent unwanted visits from the fireplace. Their common room duplicated Gryffindor’s in a smaller scale, with room and furniture for about six people, both bedrooms were upstairs they were just like the dorms except they wouldn’t have to share with anyone. With a more cautious look, they discovered a secluded room to meetings. After they checked everything there, they went to their house’s common room meet Ginny. Looking around they found a bunch of their old house mates hanging around, most of them greeted them and none stared. They all knew both. Hermione was relieved to notice that and once again she felt home. Harry looked at her, knowing what she was feeling and hugged her.

“That’s how you felt every time?” She knew the answer, but had to ask nonetheless. They sat in their usual spot, away from the noise. Ginny found them quickly enough to hear Harry’s answer.

“Yes. Hogwarts felt like home first because everyone was just like me so I was not just a freak as the Dursley said I was. That was actually even before the school began. Then I met you and Ron, and it was home because I had friends, people who cared about me. Although I was and am still The Boy Who Lived, most of the people here treat me no different. Specially Gryffindors, to most I’m just a quidditch player who helped defending our school and home…” Harry smiled to Hermione. “I think that’s what you see here, people don’t treat you differently because you are the brains of the trio,” he smiled as Hermione grimaced at the nickname. “They treat you as one of their most respected students who works hard to be in that position…” Ginny nodded.

“I think we are really lucky to be here. After my first year, I thought I would be judged and all but everyone simply embraced me.”

“Yeah, I think we could say that we’re lucky…” Hermione smiled to both.

“Uh, excuse me.” A first year approached them, almost flinching when the three of them looked at her. “Moire said she knows you,”

“Oh, yes! Where is she?” Hermione took instant interest.

“Right there.” The girl pointed the other first year who was sat near the fire place, reading. And looked uncertain to them. “I’m really sorry to bother you. It’s just that my mother told me that if I ever got to know any of you I should thank you. I know it’s lame, but my mother is muggle born and she actually…” The girl started crying and was immediately embraced by Ginny. After a few moments, she managed to calm down. “We had to hide so she wouldn’t be caught by them…” The three of them nodded. They knew how it must have felt like.

“Now let’s get you to your room…” Ginny said. “You need to rest, classes begin tomorrow…” The girl nodded.

Hermione stood from her armchair and approached Moire. The girl was reading the first year’s book of spells and apparently managed to master one of them quite quickly.

“I see you have been studying…” The younger girl looked up from the book and beamed.

“Uh, yeah… I didn’t want to come without knowing something…”

“I actually did the exact same thing the first time I got here.” Hermione smiled, remembering her first year. “Moire, it’s quite late and you should go to sleep. You will have a long day tomorrow. And if you ever need anything, you can talk to me. If you don’t find me, you can talk to that lady over there, she will let me know you are looking for me. Now go to bed and go make some friends, Hogwarts is where we find knowledge and friendship. Enjoy both.”

“You got to know Harry here, right?” Hermione nodded. “I hope I find a friend like him…” The girl smiled and went to her dorm.

“You really have got the way with kids, ‘Mione.” Ginny had come back and watched the last bit of the conversation.

“You too, Gin.” Hermione answered, smiling at her friend.

The three of them decided to head to their rooms shortly after. Harry shared the password with Ginny and they decided they should keep the arrangement they had while on vacation, she would only spend the night at his room on weekends. That way they both would have time to study. Hermione was certain that the arrangement would last only a few days. Probably the fact that both had to grow up rather quickly and the risk of losing each other made their relationship grow stronger faster than usual for two teenagers. Hermione could see that neither of them was really willing to let the other go as they said good night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we have another chapter!
> 
> Hope you liked it! Please review/comment, I really love reading your thoughts.
> 
> Thanks for reading!  
> ;3
> 
> (no great cliffhangers on this one but sadly I'm no angel anymore)


	18. Chapter 17

The first day of classes was a real joy to Hermione and, as she could see, her friends felt the same way. Even Harry was overjoyed to spend the day on school. At dinner, Luna joined them this time, saying she wanted to spend some more time with them.

“I came to a resolution today.” Harry said as soon as the four of them sat.

“That would be…?” Ginny said, looking at him curiously.

“I decided that I’ll study harder than ever…”

“Finally!” Hermione said thrusting a fist upwards. Ginny and Luna laughed at her antics.

“Mostly because I understand I need to. But I want to truly learn. I think I’ve let Ron have too much influence on me. Maybe with the company of your three brains I’ll be able to study and have a life… That remembers me…” He looked hopefully to Hermione.

“Yes, Harry, I’ll help you with your schedule.”

“Thanks, ‘Mione! You are a lifesaver! Actually, you have done that to me more times than I’d like to admit.”

They spent the rest of the night chatting, Luna was informed about the access to their room and they headed back to the common room after dinner. Luna parted ways from them and went to the Ravenclaw tower.

When they were midway to the common room, McGonagall intercepted them.

“Evening, Mr. Potter I need to know from you if you plan on continuing being part of the quidditch team.” Harry nodded. and she looked from him to Ginny and back to him. “I assume you will keep the post of captain.”

“Well, I prefer not to. The absurd amount of responsibilities…”

“I see. I needed to have this conversation with you before handling the post. That being said, I can state with absolute certainty that Miss Weasley will do an excellent job with the team this year.” Ginny squealed and the professor smiled at her fondly. “Now, if you would excuse me, I will inform the head you your house about it, she will be pleased to know about it.”

Ginny looked at Harry with narrow eyes after the headmistress left.

“What?”

“The thing you love the most to do is playing quidditch and you definitely should be the captain. Why didn’t you get the job?”

“As I said, I have a lot of responsibilities.”

“Yeah, as if you didn’t have the plans to the team.”

“Fine, I figured you would get the job if I didn’t. And I know how much you want to play in the Harpies. And your chances to do so are even higher if you are the captain. And anyway, I’m supposed to be out of school already…” Ginny smiled fondly and kissed his cheek. Hermione rolled her eyes.

“Seriously, get a room.”

“Oh, I will.” Ginny said, narrowing her eyes to Hermione. Harry blushed deeply. And both girls laughed at his inability to answer his friend.

* * *

Fleur hoped not to miss the brunette as much as she was right now. The kiss she had gave her was yet to leave her head, a week after she was still able to close her eyes and remember the feeling of her lips on her cheek. She would definitely go crazy. The blonde had spent the whole week in field training with the trainees but every time she got home, no matter how tired she was she wasn’t able to sleep right away. She noticed she would have to get used to not being able to have a good night of sleep. Apparently, it was caused by not being able to see the brunette every day.

She had noticed that Bill’s brother had changed from being all over her to being a complete annoying git since the dinner his mother hosted a week after the last battle. His antics were yet to change, after more than three months being trained by her. She was certain that she didn’t do anything to him and Bill said he hadn’t heard anything about it either. Ronald wouldn’t listen to her nor pay attention whenever she gave the trainees the instructions they needed to get the mission done. If Bill knew nothing, maybe Harry did. Fleur decided to send him a letter. She hoped he could unveil that mystery because it was nearly impossible to work with the younger redhead. Harry was yet to resume his paper work with Tonks as far as she knew so it probably wouldn’t be a problem.

* * *

It was Sunday afternoon when an owl landed in front of Harry in their particular common room. He and Hermione had Saturday as a day off with Ginny and Luna and decided to study in advance because they would begin to work the next week. Obviously, it was the brunette’s idea but Harry went along knowing it was better for him to do so. The other two girls joined them after lunch so they were all in the living room. Harry looked at the owl curiously. Hearing the owl, Hermione lifted her eyes from the book she was reading.

“Oh, Fleur wrote? I hope it’s everything okay…”

Ginny’s head snapped up and looked to the three of them with a lifted brow.

“You know the owl she owns? And how are you so certain it’s hers?”

“Uhn, Yuna is sweet and I…”

“Oooh, you got it bad!” Ginny laughed as she saw the brunette blush.

“Shut it! Harry, it’s obviously for you, open it!”

Harry took the letter from the owl and gave her a treat. Yuna flew to Luna, who was calling her, and enjoyed the blonde’s affection. He opened it and frowned.

“What is it? Is she all right?” Hermione asked as she saw Harry frown.

“Yeah. It’s just that Ron is being a git and she has no idea of why.” Harry answered, knowing his friend would grow nervous if he didn’t answer her. Ginny frowned, mirroring Hermione.

“He’s just noticed he doesn’t stand a chance compared to Fleur. You told him you like her, right ‘Mione?” Luna made herself noticed as she spoke. Hermione raised both brows.

“What the hell? He’s jealous of me or of her? He said he was over me the last time we spoke…”

“I think it’s both things! He obviously still like you but was acting strong because it’s Ron and he kind of admires Fleur and has a crush over her.” Luna said it all as if it was the most obvious things.

“That definitely makes sense. And sounds just like him.” Ginny agreed. Harry and Hermione just nodded.

“Well, you can’t tell her that. I didn’t really say anything to her yet.” The brunette remarked.

“Just say you are going to talk to him and find out. And you need to act on that crush, ‘Mione…” Ginny brushed the problem away and smiled to her friend. “When are you two going to meet again?”

“This Friday.”

“Just ask her out.” Harry said, trying to hold back a smile.

“Says the guy that took two years to ask me out…” Laughed Ginny, kissing her boyfriend on the cheek. Hermione was now in deep thought.

“Anyway, I’ll floo Fleur right now. She kind of asked for a quick answer.” Harry got up and neared the fireplace with a handful of floo powder. Hermione watched as he called for Fleur’s flat and silently waited even though she wanted to see the blonde. Harry emerged from the fireplace smiling. “She asked about you.” He winked at his best friend.

Once again, Harry’s head vanished into the fireplace only this time he had called the Burrow. Remerging he informed that Ron was busy but would floo in about fifteen minutes. The time passed in a slow pace, Hermione started to get impatient mostly because she wanted to scream at the redhead boy for being such an ass.

“Wouldn’t be better to discuss this in person?” Luna suggested, looking at the other three as they all grew reckless. Hermione looked between Ginny and Harry, who nodded.

“I’ll inform McGonagall we will have a guest.” She conjured her otter and sent it to the headmistress explaining the situation. By now it was pretty clear to Hermione that she already knew about her love interest towards Fleur. In less than three minutes, a silver cat appeared in the room carrying the professor’s acknowledgment. A moment later Ron’s head appeared in the fireplace.

“We need to talk to you, Ron. Better be in person.” Ginny said to the ashes head.

“Ok.” The head disappeared only to be replaced by his whole body dressed in pijamas. “Oh, you are all here…”

“Hi, Ron…” Said Luna. As the other three only nodded.

“Hi…” He said, throwing himself into an armchair nearby. “What is it? Can’t take the school anymore?” He half smiled. His good humor didn’t last long, only until he saw Hermione’s expression.

“We need to talk about Fleur.” Harry said locking eyes with Ron, who sat straight at the serious tone of his best friend.

“What about her? I didn’t do anything. You said ‘Mione is interested in her and that I should hold back and all…”

“You really need to be told that, don’t you, Ron?” Ginny laughed.

“What? You hated her not long ago…” Ron began to get agitated.

“Yeah, I grew up. I saw it was a dumb grudge.” Ginny answered.

The whole time Hermione sat still controlling herself and forcing her mouth shut. And she decided to stay that way. It was good to have some self-control and not punch a friend straight in the face.

“Ok, we are talking about you, actually. Why are you acting the way you are towards her?” Harry sat in front of his best friend while Ginny was next to Hermione also trying to calm herself.

“Uh?” Was the only thing Ron was able to issue.

“You. Are. Being. An. Ass. Towards. Fleur. Why?” Ginny asked, making sure to be very clear with each word.

“I’m not!”

Hermione sighted. “Yes, you are. She is your boss, try respecting her and listening to her.” She said, keeping her voice controlled.

“Look, you don’t really have to like her. Although I’d strongly insist that you at least try to change your mind about it. You need to be civil and respect her the same amount you respect your brother.” Harry said.

“But I do!”

“No, you don’t. You can even ask Bill about it. He noticed that. Hell, probably all the trainees did so.” Ginny said.

Hermione stood from her place and locked eyes with him.

“Look, if you need to be angry with someone, be at me. I’m the one who has fallen for her, she didn’t force me to anything.” The brunette sighed and looked at Luna, who was silent the whole exchange. “Could you please make him see? I’m too tired to make this git to see anything.” Luna nodded and Hermione tiredly climbed the stairs.

“Are you serious about it? You can’t seriously believe Fleur didn’t do anything with her!”

“In case you don’t remember, ‘Mione has always been immune to Fleur’s thrall. There is nothing she could have done.” Ginny reasoned.

“Yeah and she wasn’t a FUCKING DYKE!”

“RONALD WEASLEY! YOU BETTER APOLOGISE NOW!” Ginny’s face got as red as her hair and her tone reached her mothers. Ron recoiled into the armchair he had been all the time and murmured an apology. “I really can’t believe I have a homophobic brother!”

“Gin, can you go see in ‘Mione is ok? There is no way she didn’t hear it all.” Harry forced the redhead to look at him.

“Ok. I better go anyway, my real wish is to kill this idiot.” She sighted, kissed Harry and went after her friend.

“You know it’s true, Harry.” Ron said silently after hearing Hermione’s door close after Ginny.

“Oh, right you are an absolute git! If anything, Fleur is much more in ‘Mione’s hand than otherwise. And stop believing she is doing something unwillingly, she is not. She never was and never will be this kind of person.” Luna said, looking at Ron. It was probably the first time she spoke in that manner, not dreamingly. Except when she talked about her time at the Malfoy’s manor, but again, she never talked about it.

“Ron, you know her. You know she wouldn’t have said anything if it wasn’t over analyzed and that the first thing she would be sure to go through would be the thrall thing. Stop making up apologies to be a git and accept Hermione likes her. It will be for the better.” Harry said silently. Ron simply looked at him acknowledging the information both thrown to him.

“It’s no one’s fault 'Mione likes Fleur. And that doesn’t mean she is a lesbian, anyway.” Luna said and Harry simply agreed.

“I need to go.” Ron murmured standing up.

“Please rethink your actions.” Harry said sadly.

After Ron left, Harry noticed dinner time had come and passed and the four didn’t have dinner. “Dobby!” The house elf appeared with a low crack. Harry and Luna exchanged greetings with the elf and the boy asked him if it was possible for him to bring food for them as they had lost themselves in time. A moment later all books and parchments were gathered in four neat piles on one side of their table and four plates filled with their favorite food were delivered by Dobby. Harry went upstairs to call both girls so they could eat too. He found Hermione being hugged by Ginny who gently soothed her. Hermione excused herself to the bathroom and said she would go down in a minute after Harry assured her that Ron had left. They ate silently, none comfortable enough to address a word about what had happened. Each of them got to their dormitories, Luna left with Harry’s cloak so Filch wouldn’t catch her walking around after hours.

In the middle of the week, Hermione received an apology letter from Ron. She was still upset with the boy and what he had said but was happy to have friends that supported her. She was dealing well with all her responsibilities as expected as was Harry. There was a silent agreement not to speak about what transpired Sunday afternoon and the two other Gryffindors and the Ravenclaw held their breaths as Hermione read the redhead letter.

“He says he’s sorry about everything and that he even apologized to Fleur.” Hermione said and the other three nodded and resumed what they were doing before the owl’s arrival. That was all they said about Ron. The letter remembered her that she had a meeting with the blonde in two days and nervousness grew in her as soon as she acknowledged it would be their first meeting after that goodbye kiss.

Time passed quickly and their last Friday class was coming to an end and Hermione sat impatiently on her desk, not really listening to professor Binns talk.

“Calm down, 'Mione!” Ginny whispered to her after seeing the brunette’s antics.

The bell chimed and with a flick of their wands, the empty parchment in front of Hermione was back into her bag along with the quill and the ink flask. Harry and Ginny only had time to grab their material in order to follow the brunette to the Gryffindor tower. Hermione dropped her bag on one of the armchairs and started to hyperventilate.

“Mione? Calm down.” Harry said, trying to help her to breath.

“You are nervous over that kiss you gave her, right?” Hermione nodded, looking at Ginny who sat beside her. “Well, don’t. You are overthinking. And you have a business meeting now anyway.” Obviously, reasoning with the brunette was the best way to make her calm down. After a few minutes, she was much calmer and thanked her friends.

“You should go, dinner will begin soon…” Hermione said, knowing she wouldn’t be able to eat with them as the meeting would happen during the meal.

“We want to say hi to Fleur first, then we will leave. Dobby said he would bring you both some food, you just have to call him.” Harry said, smiling. “We will be in the common room if you need anything and I probably will spend the night on Ginny’s room.” His cheeks blushed as he said the last part.

A moment later, Fleur’s face appeared in the fireplace and she was invited inside. They all greeted each other, the blonde making sure to give the brunette two kisses on the cheeks, making her blush deeply.

“We should go…” Ginny said.

“Oh, I didn’t mean to kick you out of ‘ere.” Fleur said, worriedly. “We could do eet in my place…”

“Relax. We are just going to dinner.” Harry smiled. He and Ginny said goodbye and left.

“And eet escaped from my mind zee dinner time ‘ere, you should ‘ave told me…”

“Oh, no problem. Dobby will bring us some of it, I imagine you still haven’t eaten…”

“Oui…”

“Oh, and how is Ron by the way? Better?”

“Oui. Much better. I don’t know what you did but ‘e even said ‘e was sorry.” Fleur smiled.

Gosh, that smile really had the power to make Hermione weak on the knees. Breathing deeply, she smiled back and begun showing the room to the blonde.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey!  
> Thank you for reading! I hope you liked it!
> 
> Please comment and leave kudos!  
>  ;3


	19. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M BACK, BITCHES! 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

That smile would be the death of her.

"So, you hungry? We could eat and talk about where we are on the reports." Hermione suggested.

"Sure." Dobby was called and the plates delivered. Soon they were both eating and discussing the report. "I completely forgot 'ow amazing ees zee food 'ere!"

Fleur was barely capable of keeping herself focused on the task they had. That week had probably been one of the worse she ever had. Clearly Harry had talked to Ron because he came back Monday already with a better attitude. And apparently, Hermione heard about it too, having asked about him. Two days into the week and she was already nervous about the meeting. Thursday morning, she came to a resolution, having thought about it the whole week. She would finally ask the lioness out. It was definitely dumb of her to not have done it before. She was long due to do so. Fleur spent the rest of the day and the following gathering courage, she was doing so while they discussed the reports. They barely advanced given her inability to focus. Three hours later, she saw Hermione yawn and noticed she seemed really tired, Fleur was quite exhausted too.

"'Ermione, I should go. You seem tired and probably 'ad a long day…" Fleur began.

"Oh, no, stay, Fleur! I guess we could at least stop working and have cup of tea…" Hermione interrupted her, tiredness was obvious in her eyes, but she was clearly trying to ignore it.

"Just a cup of tea. Zen I'll go. I also 'ad a long day…" Not that it would keep her from enjoying time with the brunette.

Hermione called Dobby once again and asked the elf for two cups of tea. Hermione asked her about her weeks and talked about hers. They were both finishing their tea when Fleur decided it was now or never.

"Uh, 'ermione…" She broke the momentary silence.

"Yes?" The brunette looked away from her cup into her eyes. Fleur rested her cup on the table and took in a deep breath.

"Uhm, I was wondering eef you would be interested in going on a date wiz me sometime…" There, she said it.

"What?" Hermione blurted out.

"Uhm… Would you like to go on a date wiz me?" Fleur repeated sat in the same position as the words left her mouth once again and was about to excuse herself when she saw the brunette's eyes lit up and the younger woman smile.

"Seriously?" Fleur nodded. "Sure. When?" Hermione answered, beaming.

"Are you free tomorrow?" The brunette nodded. "You want to go to London or do you prefer to stay on zee village?"

"Either. I just need to inform professor McGonagall…"

"I came to know a restaurant on London zat I believe you will love…"

"Sure." Hermione said, without a second thought. "I might have to go home before…"

"So, I'll meet you at your flat at seven?" Fleur could barely believe it was happening. The brunette nodded. "Deal zen." The blonde decided it was better for her to go home already and got up from her seat. "See you tomorrow…" Hermione moved to hug her. As soon as they pulled back, Fleur placed a kiss on each of Hermione's cheeks. The second mimicking the brunette's from two weeks before.

"Tell 'arry and Ginny I said bye and say 'ello to Luna, eef you may…" Fleur said right before stepping into the fireplace.

As soon as she got her feet into her flat, she released a breath she didn't know she was holding. Checking the time, she decided to call the restaurant and make reservations. After that, she noticed how tired she really was and got to bed. The whole time she couldn't stop smiling.

* * *

As soon as Fleur vanished from the fireplace, Hermione squealed. She quickly accessed the common room, it was late and the room had only seven years scattered around. When she didn't see Harry nor Ginny there, she directed herself to the redhead's room hoping to get them in a decent state. She knocked and entered the room. They were her friends and she, unfortunately had already caught them in awkward circumstances. And right now, she couldn't care less. Fortunately, they were hunched over a drawing of the Quidditch pitch, apparently discussing training techniques.

"Hermione!" Ginny said, being the first to notice the girl madly smiling, causing Harry to turn and face her.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked, the brunette nodded.

"What happened?" Ginny insisted in making her speak. "Wait! You asked her out?" She smiled but shook her head. "Then what? It has something to do with Fleur…"

"Sheaskedmeout!" Hermione blurted the words almost screaming. Both of her friends looked at her questioningly.

"Sorry?" Harry said.

Hermione took in a deep breath. "Fleur asked me out." Her statement was followed by a squeal from Ginny. Harry simply smiled at her.

"Finally…" He said lowly. His word missed in the chatting of the two girls. Hermione retold the meeting to them and smiled as she remembered the moment the blonde asked the first time. She blushed saying she had to make her repeat herself because her brain basically had an override.

"Ginny!" Hermione said, as soon as she finished to tell them what transpired.

"If McGonagall allow me to go too, I'll help, 'Mione!" Ginny nodded, not needing another word from the brunette. Hermione nodded and thanked. "Now go to sleep. You have to be flawless tomorrow!" The redhead smiled, making Hermione go to her room. She and Harry were already in their night robes and decided to accompany the brunette back to the reserved dormitory.

Hermione talked to the headmistress right after breakfast the next day and the three Gryffindors decided to leave before lunch so they would have all the time they needed. They ordered a pizza so no one would have to cook. Time passed by and soon Hermione had one hour to be ready and she was yet to figure out her outfit.

"Hey, it's just a dress." Harry said as he was bombarded with questions by both girls and, obviously, he ended up being ignored. They were currently inside Hermione's bedroom going through her clothes. The brunette ended up dressing every single dress she owned. Ginny finally made up her mind putting together a shortish dress, a leather jacket and high heeled boots. Hermione smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror half an hour after they begun looking for clothes and Harry threw his arms up as he noticed it was over and he didn't have to give opinions on outfits anymore. He got out of the room as Ginny was getting ready to go out. They would go on a date too.

At seven, the bell rang and Harry answered, smiling. Fleur was wearing black skinny jeans, a white button-down blouse and a leather jacket.

"Good night, Fleur…"

"'ello, 'arry!" She hugged him tightly.

"She is coming down any minute now…"

"Oh, hello, Fleur!" Hermione made herself noticed still at the top of the stairs. She noticed the other woman's eyes go darker and get back to normal quickly but paid no reed to it. When she got to the end of the stairs and approached the other two, Fleur was yet to say something. She turned to Harry and smiled at him. Ginny appeared on the top of the stairs and it was his time to be speechless. Hermione gathered the courage she had and held Fleur by the waist. That made the blonde snap back to reality and look at her in the eyes.

"'i, 'ermione…" She said. "You are absolutely gorgeous." She whispered.

"Thanks. You too." That was true. When she got to the stairs on the first floor and saw Fleur she was rendered speechless. Only a few breaths later she could greet the woman and make herself noticed.

"Hi Fleur!" Ginny greeted the blonde, taking her attention from Hermione. Fleur moved to hug the redhead.

"We should get going…" Harry said as both woman pulled back. They all nodded and left the apartment.

The couples parted ways as they exited the building.

"What have you planned?" Hermione asked Fleur curiously.

"I 'aven't been 'onest. We 'ave restaurant reservations at nine. And I 'eard zere ees a play due to begin in 'alf an 'our on a zeatre near zee restaurant…" Hermione beamed.

"That would be awesome. Do you know what play it is?"

"Non…"

They apparated on a nearby apparition site and had a short walk to the theatre. When they got there and Hermione read the poster, she looked at Fleur with suspicious look.

"You knew what was the play."

"Oui." Fleur chuckled. "I just wanted eet to be a surprise."

The poster read 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'.

Hermione kissed the blonde's cheek and thanked her. Fleur revealed two tickets to the play and confessed she had been hoping the brunette would like the idea of the play without knowing which it would be. They entered the Theatre smiling broadly and the whole length of the classic, Hermione leaned into Fleur with her head on the blonde's shoulder. As they got out, Fleur guided Hermione towards the restaurant.

"I found eet last Saturday and immediately zought of you. Zee food ees exquisite…" Fleur said while entering the place. Hermione couldn't help but smile.

They had dinner and talked about everything, not wanting to miss a thing about the other. Time passed quite quickly and soon both girls were walking towards the apparition site. They made a quiet walk, enjoying each other's company. When they apparated in front of Hermione's flat they were still silent. Fleur hugged the brunette.

"Thanks for the night, Fleur." Her arms were still around the blonde's neck as they were yet to pull back from the hug. Hermione looked directly into Fleur's eyes and smiled. She thought about the book the veela had given her and remembered something from it. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure."

"Am I your…?" For the first time, Hermione's words faltered as Fleur looked into her eyes and nodded. Feeling lost into the blonde's eyes, and immensely happy about the finding, Hermione leaned towards the other woman.

Hermione felt Fleur's lips in hers for the first time in her life and instantly smiled into it. She felt the blonde smile too. The next thing she felt were her hands pressing her into Fleur and without a second thought, she pulled the blonde closer to her too. She could sense the whole world fade away as she got even more aware of how close Fleur was. Hermione felt the veela's tongue on her lower lip, asking for permission to deepen the kiss and parted her lips with a low moan.

* * *

"Am I your…?" Before Hermione could finish her question, Fleur locked her eyes into hers and nodded, drowning into the brunette's eyes. She saw her leaning in and closing her eyes and felt her lips against hers. Closing her eyes, she felt her inner veela purr and held back a moan. She smiled as she felt Hermione smiling and pulled her closer to her. She couldn't believe it was happening. In a moment, she was completely aware of her surroundings then she wasn't, the only thing she cared about in that exact moment was in front of her, kissing her. Fleur asked for permission to deepen the kiss and heard a soft moan as the other woman parted her lips. When they managed to pull away, they were both smiling and Fleur felt like the luckiest woman in the universe. Hermione pressed her forehead against hers and looked into her eyes. They stood that way for a few moments and exchanged some kisses.

"Good night…" Fleur whispered.

"Good night." Hermione answered after another kiss. And fully pulled back to open the door.

Fleur watched Hermione get inside the apartment with a smile on her face. She noticed that her vision was sharper and thanked merlin that her nails didn't turn into talons. The blonde was alone outside the apartment and decided it was better to just apparate home. She was quite sure Hermione noticed the change on her eyes, at least she had enough self-control to calm the veela for most part of the night. She lost control for a second, at the exact time Hermione kissed her, probably out of surprise. And that was the proof to anyone willing to see that she simply lost her mind over the brunette.

Fleur appeared in the living room less than a second after she vanished from Hermione's front door. She sighted and decided she deserved a glass of wine. The smile never really left her face, her cheeks were beginning to ache but she paid no reed. Hermione Granger had kissed her. Hermione freaking Granger! She replayed the night sitting on her couch, at the exact same place the brunette had sat the first time she visited her and all other times. A fool smile on her lips.

She got to bed after that wine just as she promised herself. Sleep came easily, her veela and herself still purring and smiling at the shadow of her lips on hers.

* * *

Hermione closed the door and took off her boots, as much as she liked those she preferred being barefooted. Walking to the kitchen, she fixed herself a cup of hot cocoa, the one thing she could "cook" without risking her existence or the flat's. She walked up stairs, calmly. Entering her room, she silently casted a spell so she could stargaze and sat on her bed, replaying the night on her mind. She slept under that sky after finishing her hot chocolate.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sorry, it took too long right? The ceremony of my graduation was last week and a bunch of ppl of my family visited. Mostly ppl I'm able to see only once or twice a year so, yeah... A small treat for you, THE kiss. Let me know if you like it!
> 
> Please comment and leave kudos! You are awesome!
> 
> ;3


	20. Chapter 19

She woke up smiling, her cheeks hurt. Apparently, she slept smiling. The first thought that crossed her mind was her, and immediately she felt her stomach flutter. She touched her own lips, not really believing she had the courage to ask that one question. A mate? She never believed those fairytales, never expected to find her prince charming. Well, in this case princess. Obviously, those tales came from a truthful place. She closed her eyes once more and felt the blonde's lips on hers. Opening her eyes again she noticed it was late and near lunch. An idea struck to her. She remembered seeing a French restaurant somewhere near… Would it be too clingy?

"Whatever…" She murmured to herself after sighting.

She took a quick shower and dressed something casual. Jeans and a t-shirt. And, hoping both of her friends were still sleeping or at least locked on their room, she descended the stairs.

"Well, she is finally out of bed!" Ginny said, smiling at her as soon as she stepped into the living room. She groaned hearing the ginger's voice. "You have plans." She added taking note of Hermione's clothing and obviously ignoring her friend's reaction, an eyebrow flying up. At that, Harry appeared from the kitchen.

"Shoot…" Hermione said, under her breath.

"I believe, Gin, she wants to enjoy a certain veela as much as she can…" He smiled.

"Exactly what I thought, Harry. Should we let her go or demand details of their night right now?" The redhead smiled at her boyfriend, who feigned deep thought.

"We should certainly demand details. But we have an entire week to do so…" He smiled at his friend, who sighted in relief.

Hermione nodded (too eager to see the blonde to say anything to her friends), picked up her favorite pair of all-stars and went through the door before Ginny could change her mind and try to make her stay. Outside, she put on the shoes and proceeded to Fleur's building. Thank Merlin it was right across the street or she would have cowered. Her courage ended just when she got to Fleur's door. She took a deep breath and knocked.

"Coming!" A few seconds later the door flung open and a surprised Fleur faced her. "'Ermione!"

They starred each other, no words were exchanged as they only smiled. Hermione felt herself drowning on the blonde's eyes once again.

"Bonjour…" Fleur said as soon as she snapped out of her own trance. She stepped aside so Hermione could get in.

"Bonjour…" Hermione was obviously in a loss of words. As Fleur closed the door, she looked around and noticed a delicious aroma coming from the kitchen. "Oh! You are cooking…" She felt her smile falter a little.

"Oui. I was zinking of calling you, 'arry and Ginny to 'ave lunch. I figured you are going back to school zis afternoon…"

"Yes… Actually, I came to ask you if you wanted to have lunch with me… But I can call home…" Hermione looked at the ground, her courage faltering once again.

"Oh, zat would be a shame…" The brunette's head shot up. "I was going to call zem only as an excuse…" Fleur smiled at her. In no time, the blonde was painfully close to her. The lack of high heels remembered both that Hermione was slightly shorter then Fleur. Hermione felt a light touch on her chin followed by a peck on her lips. She leaned on Fleur so she could return the kiss.

"Oh…" She murmured, feeling the blonde chuckle.

The veela took her hand and went back to the kitchen.

"Wine, pumpkin juice, water…?" She asked after checking the food, the brunette already seated on her usual spot.

"Whatever you are having…" And was served a glass of wine. "I figured…" She said, chuckling.

"So, I'm a drunk veela?" Fleur laughed.

"I can only hope you are not. But you do like wine…"

"Oui… I give you zat."

Hermione took a sip of the wine and bit back a moan.

"This one is different from the one you usually drink."

"Yes. Maman sent me this one last night, I imagine. It appeared in my wine cellar…"

"You have a wine cellar?"

"Oui…"

"Yeah, you are a drunk veela!" Hermione smiled at her, making sure she understood it was a joke.

"Zen I guess I'll 'ave to suspend the wine for you…" Fleur said, quickly taking the glass of Hermione's hands and placing it out of her reach.

"Oh, come on…" The brunette said, trying to get the glass back, only to stumble out of the bench she was and almost fall face first on the floor.

After she rightened herself again, her face flushed, Fleur gave the glass back to her. The blonde skirted the counter, laughing, and gave the brunette a tight hug. Hermione fought a little but soon leaned into the older woman.

"Now, are you 'ungry?" The brunette simply nodded. "Good, it's ready."

They sat facing each other and ate.

"So…" Hermione begun, as they finished eating.

"Oui?" Fleur answered, smiling.

The blonde reached for her wand before she could say anything else and set the dishes to wash themselves with a simple spell.

"What time you 'ave to leave?" Fleur asked, as she got up from her seat and motioned to Hermione so they could seat comfortably at the couch.

"Well, I don't really have a curfew, but I am expected to head back today…" The brunette said, leaning on the veela as they sat.

"I see… And I imagine you want to talk about yesterday…" Hermione nodded.

"Thank you for the date, it was wonderful. And for lunch today…"

"You are welcome, but zere ees no need to zank me."

"It was perfect and yes, I do since you didn't let me pay for anything." Hermione crossed her arms and raised a brow, making sure to distance herself from the blonde.

"Eet was zee right zing to do. I invited you, I should pay. Zat's 'ow french do zings."

"Ok, then. I guess I'll have to ask you on a date too…" Hermione said nonchalantly leaving Fleur stunned.

"Uhn…"

"Oh, dear merlin! I can't believe I left the French lady in a loss of words!" Hermione laughed. "But would you? I probably shouldn't come to London often, but I suppose we could go somewhere in Hogsmeade…" She began to rant as she got nervous at Fleur's lack of response

"Oui."

"What?"

"Yes, I'll go out wiz you. Again."

"Good" Hermione kissed her cheek, lovingly. "Now can we discuss some important maters?"

"As much as…?" Fleur looked at her curiously.

"Uhm. This mating thing. I understand what the book say, I was just wondering if there were any other books I could learn from…"

"Oui. Most of zose books are about veela's and mates." Fleur pointed to the shelter that held mostly french books. "And you can ask me. Or my maman and papá, I'm certain zey will be pleased to explain what zey can to you. But you 'ave to understand that zee veela culture ees really restricted, zere ees only a few zings we can tell you since you are not one or mated to one."

"I see. I understand that the mating is related to the veela and her mate having sex. But…"

"Zee mating ees much more zan sex. Eet only 'appens when both are conscious about eet."

"And it brings me to my next question…"

"'ow on earth you are mine." The brunette nodded, smiling. "As far as I can understand, zee veela soul only chooses a mate zat ees able to challenge 'er. I only saw you were my mate after you came back from your 'orcrux 'unt with 'arry and Ronald…"

"But you knew me before that…"

"Oui, you always caught my attention but I guess either of us were mature enough for us to recognize…" Fleur sighted. "The zing with veela mates ees zat eet ees zee soul's choice, eet's not conscious. Zee souls recognize each ozer. Differently from what most believe, a veela can find anozer mate, eet ees difficult and could take years, but ees possible." Hermione nodded, she had understood it from the book the blonde gave her. "Eet only happens eef zee mate revoke zee connection before zeee mating ceremony. Which is zee sex… After that…"

"The veela dies and later the mate does too." Fleur nodded.

"Zee veela magic works in both ways. A mated veela can't live without her mate and a veela's mate can't live without eet's veela. Zat part of zee 'eritage ees present in full power to anyone who 'as even a slight part of veela blood." Fleur continued her explanation. Hermione sat straight and looked at the blonde.

"Your father says in the book that a full veela can completely turn into its animal form. I saw your eyes yesterday, it matched with his description of veelas eyes…"

"Zee changes occur in steps but I can't fully transform. Not as far as I know. My maman doesn't talk much about eet. Zee eyes are zee first thing to change, actually. Zen nails into taloons. Zat ees as far as I've been." Fleur smiled at Hermione. The brunette starred deeply into her eyes.

"Your eyes are beautiful." She said as if in trance, then quickly looked away. "But I guess you hear that a lot…"

"I do, indeed. But coming from you ees much better." Fleur smiled and kissed Hermione's cheek. She, then, lightly made Hermione look at her again. "Your eyes aren't blurred with ze thrall."

"Your veela eyes are too." Fleur blushed slightly.

"Zank you."

Hermione leaned on Fleur so she could feel her embrace. The blonde kissed her forehead and sighted contently. Moving quickly, Hermione kissed her on the lips. They both moaned as they deepened it. They stayed like that for about half an hour until Hermione snuggled further into her and her breathing became slower.

* * *

Fleur felt Hermione fall asleep and carefully she summoned a blanket so the lioness wouldn't get cold. She watched her sleep, as the brunette moved from her shoulder to her lap, and smiled contently hoping she could do it for the rest of her life. Her mind began to wander as the time passed and something began to plague her thoughts but she decided that it definitely wasn't the time to talk about it. It was too soon. Remembering Harry would probably wonder if Hermione was going back to school with him and Ginny, she conjured her patronus and sent it to him as a message. She felt the younger woman stir and looked down to her, grinning.

"Oh my god! I fell asleep! Why didn't you wake me up?" Hermione sat up straight quickly.

"You look quite magnifique while sleeping and I didn't want to disturb you." Fleur smiled reassuringly. "I sent a message to 'arry to let 'im know 'e doesn't 'ave to wait for you to go to 'ogwarts. I 'ope I did right…"

"Yes, it's ok." Hermione said, kissing the blonde's cheek. "Thank you. I should have told him that…"

"De rien…"

They talked about almost everything that came into their minds. Fleur cooked again, she loved being able to cook for Hermione and couldn't stop grinning the whole time. They ate in silent and it was not awkward, but surprisingly relaxing. The whole dinner they exchanged lingering touches and glances. After cleaning the table, something Hermione insisted to do, the brunette stood next to her awkwardly. Fleur realized she should actually to back to school. Without a word, Fleur kissed her. It was obviously a goodbye and both clinged at each other, not wanting to let go. With a sigh, Hermione pulled back and looked into Fleur's eyes. Telling by the way she could see the different shades of brown into the other's eyes, the french knew the lioness was looking into bright orange ones.

"I should go." Hermione stated the obvious.

"Oui. I could accompany you to your house…"

"I was actually thinking about using your fireplace to go…" Fleur nodded. "About that books…"

Fleur smiled. "You can take any of zem. Alzough I would recommend you reading zis two first. Eef you need, I can cast a translating spell…" She trailed off as she saw the younger shaking her head.

"I know the spell… Don't worry. Those are in french?"

"Ancient french to be accurate. But a common spell should work."

They smiled at each other and Fleur braced herself for the goodbye. Not thinking twice, to quiet her inner veela and her own heart, she leaned in and kissed the brunette. She felt her smiling into the kiss and couldn't help but to do the same.

"What happened? You are quite smiley and it doesn't happen ever since a certain brunette went back to Hogwarts." Bill asked Fleur as soon as she entered their office the next day surprising him with her good humor.

"I just gave you good morning!" She said with feigned offense.

"And you usually does that in a grunt." He smiled at her as he saw her drop the acting.

"Well, I actually 'ad zee courage to ask 'er out." She paused to watch her friend's reaction, which was raising both his hands to the sky as if in praise, "we went to zee zeater, to watch 'er favorite play as a matter of fact, and 'ad dinner." Once again, she paused. "And as I was getting 'er back 'ome, she kissed me." She finished her story triumphantly and grinned. Bill simply smiled at her.

"Finally!"

"Yesterday…" She started again.

"What? There's more?" She grinned more widely, if that was even possible.

"Oui. I was cooking and zinking about inviting zem for lunch when she knocked at my door. So, we actually spent the whole afternoon together." Bill nodded, smiling.

"Ok. Now I see why you are in such a good mood…" And he spent the rest of the day pestering her about her good mood. Thankfully they weren't with the trainees as they had to do paperwork and the group was being trained by Tonks.

* * *

Hermione arrived at Hogwarts long after dinner and by the sounds she could unfortunately hear from Harry's room, her friends had retrieved to bed already. She smiled thankfully, not really wanting to spend half of the night telling with details what happened on the weekend. The thought of it made her remember Fleur and she sighted contently. Hermione knew she would have to wake up early the next morning so she went to bed, smiling widely.

She woke up smiling and quickly jumped out of her bed, getting ready so she could head down to breakfast. When she got to the first floor she was greeted with an extremely excited Ginny and a smirking Harry.

"So… Came back late?" Harry said, teasingly.

"Early enough to hear you two." She answered with a raised brow, making him blush and Ginny laugh. "Thankfully this whole part of the tower has noise isolation. Or everyone would hear you being loud as fuck." The redhead was yet to stop laughing and Harry was too embarrassed to say anything.

"Your brother is really good. What can I do?" Ginny said as soon as she calmed down, making Harry's blush deepen and Hermione laugh. "Seriously though, spill the tea."

"Impatient much?" Hermione smirked. She wanted to tell everything but was also hungry…

"I told you we should have made her tell us about the date yesterday before she left…" Ginny whined to her boyfriend, who simply laughed.

"Relax, I will. Just with Luna together I'm pretty sure she wants to know too." Ginny groaned for having to wait but began to move towards the exit. Her face lit up as soon as she opened the passage.

"Lun!"

"Hi! I came to see if you were here already…" Luna smiled at her ginger friend.

"Yeah and 'Mione is about to tell us how the date went. And yesterday's afternoon!"

"Oh! You met yesterday too? Smooth!" The blonde giggled her brows, laughing and making Hermione blush.

"I was not about to tell you anything! I just want some food and caffeine right now, so I'm heading to the Great Hall." She brushed through both girls still blushing but clearly feigning annoyance. Her three friends followed her suit, laughing at her reaction.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: HELLO again! So much fluff I think I need to see the dentist now... I really like them being sweet and all. I don't have much to say... Hope you enjoyed it as much as I did writing!
> 
> Thanks for reading, please comment and leave kudos! I'm looking forward to read them! See you Wednesday!
> 
> ;3
> 
> PS: Oh, just so you know, at the moment the story has around 80.000 words and about 30 chapters and I'm not really near the end… And I'm trying to keep the chapters' length around 3000 words.


	21. Chapter 20

Hermione managed to delay the moment she would tell all them until after dinner, since the four of them had the day full of classes and she didn't want to talk about it in such a public place as the Great Hall. When she walked through Joan of Arc's portrait she let out a sigh and sat on one of the armchairs, dropping her bag besides her on the ground. She was quite tired but really excited to see her friends' reactions to what she was about to tell.

"Wait for me! I have to check the common room…" Ginny said to Hermione from the entrance, kissing Harry after. She apparently decided to enter the common room through Fat Lady's access. The other two entered the room smiling knowingly and got comfortable. A few minutes later, a flushed Ginny came into the room by the Gryffindor's access. "Ok. I'm here." She said taking the empty seat next to Harry.

Hermione begun describing Saturday night as the most perfect of her life. She carefully told every bit of the night to them, glad they didn't interrupt her but giving her the reactions she actually expected from them. Well, from Ginny to be honest. As she was telling the night, her mind traveled back to then and she had a smile on her face the whole time. It was almost difficult to speak.

"Then I kissed her." She said as if it was the end of the story. Ginny and Luna squealed and Harry beamed at her.

"You seriously asked her if you are her mate before kissing her?" Ginny asked in an amused tone.

"For the lack of reaction from you, you already knew that…" The three of them nodded. "I guess I'll accept that you didn't say anything because it's quite personal…"

"I only got to know after you went to you date. Harry told me." Ginny said raising her hand as if she was trying to defend herself.

"I actually knew from the beginning…" Luna smiled.

"I actually had a brother talk with her…" Harry said blushing a little.

"WHAT?" She shouted making him flinch.

"In his defense, I believe it was better than when the twins cornered him after the last battle…" Ginny said. All of them went silence for a moment, remembering it. "Ok, you kissed her. Then what?" She asked excitedly, making the other two giggle and Hermione hide her face in her hands. "Ooooooh! That hot? I always had faith in her!" She drew a fist upwards. Harry looked at her with a raised brow. "Not always. But you know what I meant."

Hermione added the detail of seeing Fleur's veela eyes and went silent.

"Hey, it's not over! What about yesterday?" Ginny giggled her eyebrows.

Sighing, Hermione resumed telling the rest of the story. This time Ginny interrupted her to complain about not being able to eat Fleur's cooking. Blushing when she got to the part she fell asleep in Fleur's arms, she heard 'awns' from the girls. Harry stayed silent the whole time, simply smiling. When she finished retelling her day, she smiled and let go a happy sigh.

"So, that next date…" Harry trailed off, smiling and knowing his friend must already have a plan. Ginny nudged him. "Hey, if I didn't ask you would!"

"That's true…" The redhead smiled and kissed him on the cheek.

"I'll probably ask her again by Friday…"

"You won't talk to her before?" Ginny sounded dazzled.

"I don't want to bother her… She is working."

"Oh, my fucking merlin! Are you serious? She just told you about the mate thing…"

"That doesn't change the fact she is working."

Their bickering made Harry and Luna laugh. "She might be using the same excuse, though…" Harry said lowly so only Ginny was able to hear. The ginger laughed, making Hermione give her a questioning look. Ginny repeated what the boy had said, chuckling. The brunette blushed.

"It's true. It's not an excuse!" She stated, annoyed.

"If you say so…" Harry said, smiling at her.

With that, Luna decided to go. Biding everyone farewell, she exited the living room, but not before she congratulated Hermione. Following her lead, the other three retrieved to their rooms.

Hermione spent the week quite occupied but trying to find a motive to get in touch with Fleur. Multiple times she caught herself zooning out and thinking about the veela and Ginny teased her numerous moments as well as soon as she gazed an empty wall for a long time. "Thinking about your girlfriend?" She would ask her every time and she always answered saying they weren't. The first time she mentally added a 'yet' to the phrase, her eyes went wide and she blushed. It was Thursday night and she had been caught staring at quite a few walls by Ginny.

"What?" The redhead said, worriedly.

"Nothing…" She answered shakily. They were having dinner with Harry and Luna at the great hall. When he heard Hermione's answer, he watched her carefully. The boy had heard that bickering so many times during the week, he had begun to ignore them as soon as he heard Ginny ask her about the girlfriend thing. He smiled and chuckled, making the redhead turn to him.

"She just realized she wants to be her girlfriend." He stated knowingly. At that the ginger bounced on her seat, smiling. "I was wondering when she would figure that out…" Hermione looked at him shocked. "What? I do know you very well…"

"Right…" She trailed off, in deep though.

Should she ask her? Hermione unconsciously smiled at the thought of being able to call Fleur her girlfriend. That sight didn't make Ginny ease her teasing on her.

Friday right after lunch McGonagall strolled to them as they talked excitedly.

"Good afternoon, to you all." She said, smiling slightly. They greeted her and waited for her to say what she intended to. "I need you," she signed to Harry and Hermione, "in my office tomorrow. We have some important matters to discuss." Seeing the worried look on their faces and how Ginny turned to say something to her, she added: "It's a good thing. And yes, miss Weasley, you may come. Miss Lovegood too if she wants to." With that she exited the great hall.

"Any idea of what she might want?" Harry asked Hermione, who simply shook her head.

"I can only guess it's not urgent. Or she would have asked us to go today…"

"I don't know. She knows you have a meeting with your girlfriend today…" Ginny said, smirking.

Hermione ignored the teasing, too focused on what the professor had said. "Yes, but she could ask us to move the meeting to Saturday…" Ginny laughed, making the brunette snap from her train of thoughts.

"You didn't deny the girlfriend part." Hermione rolled her eyes and got up, annoyed.

They got to class, their most dreaded class. Seriously, such a boring class should never be the last one of the last day of the week. History of Magic was a subject that even Hermione hoped didn't exist. And apparently, she wouldn't be able to pay attention to it this year as it was just before the meeting with Fleur. The class was dismissed and they headed to the common room, more calmly this time. Harry, Ginny and Luna followed Hermione so they could greet Fleur and then head to dinner.

"Will you stay here of go to Fleur's?" Ginny asked as soon as they reached the portrait, not really knowing their plan.

"Probably we'll stay here. By the way, Lun and Harry, I'm sorry to ask you that, but our reports have to include the Manor…" She shot an apologetic look to Luna. "By now we have practically everything until the Manor. I think that we will go through that in two weeks if not earlier." Harry and Luna nodded, part of the joy the blonde usually emanated faded as she thought about that time. A silence fell in the room, none really knowing what to say. They were that way when Fleur's face appeared in the fireplace. Noticing their faces, she hurried into the room.

"Are you ok?" She asked right away. They nodded.

"I remembered I had to ask them to write the reports about the Malfoys…" Hermione said quietly. Ginny got up from where she was after kissing Harry's cheek and making sure he was fine and greeted the newcomer warmly.

"Thank you for worrying…" was the only thing she managed to say while hugging a very surprised Fleur.

"Ce n'est rien."  _(you are welcome.)_

Hermione took a deep breath and shook her head to get rid of the bad memories. Then she noticed that Fleur had her eyes trained on her, trying to know if she was really okay. She gave her a small smile, trying to reassure her. In one fluid movement, Fleur got closer and hugged her, placing a kiss on her forehead. She felt herself relax and truly smile. She heard a chuckle from where Ginny was and glared at her.

"Before we all get the Granger Glare, let's go." Harry had enough time to recover from the memories and Luna seemed to be in a better mood too.

"Zee Granger Glare?"

"The one she is giving Harry." Luna answered, smiling. "And me, now…"

"And there goes my plan…" Harry sighted.

"You are late for dinner." Hermione said without looking at the time.

"We aren't. We still have twenty minutes before it starts." Ginny said, looking at the clock, with a smile. She noticed Hermione and Fleur were yet to pull back, the brunette leaning on the blonde's shoulder. "Let's get going. So they can greet each other properly, apparently they are shy." With that, Hermione looked into Fleur's eyes as if asking for her permission and kissed her. She heard a wolf whistle as soon as she leaned to kiss the blonde. "I knew it'd work!" Ginny trusted a fist in the air.

"Yeah, yeah. Now let's go. They still have to work." Harry said, smiling.

Hermione heard their movement and heard them geting out of the room. She didn't see anything, being focused on Fleur's eyes while they waved between blue and yellow. She smiled after taking notice they were alone, she didn't need to give Ginny more material to tease her.

"Hi." She said, the smile not leaving her face.

"'ello" Fleur smiled at her and placed a soft kiss on her lips. "Are you really okay? We don't really 'ave to work today eef you aren't…"

"Yes, it's just bad memories." Hermione looked at her thankfully and kissed her softly. "Thanks for the hug… It really helped…"

"You looked really distressed, I just did zee first zing zat came into my mind." Fleur said, earning yet other kiss. They heard their stomachs grumble and chuckled.

"We should eat." The brunette called Dobby and asked him to bring some food form them.

After eating, they sat by the table and resumed the work they were doing the previous Friday. A few moments into it, they moved to one of the couches so they could be more comfortable and resumed their reading. The first to yawn was Fleur. Seeing it, Hermione placed the report she was reading on the table next to them and looked at Fleur.

"Want to call it a night?" She asked. Fleur nodded, putting down the paper she was reading. "I'm sorry, I didn't even ask you how was your week…" Hermione said in a small voice.

"No problem. It was quite dull. We only 'ad paperwork and Tonks assumed the trainees zis week." Hermione nodded and snuggled closer to the blonde, hugging her and getting comfortable.

"I was going to ask you if you want to go out tomorrow, but apparently, the headmistress has something to discuss with us so I'll probably be occupied all afternoon. So, next week?" Hermione smiled.

"Oui. Where to?"

"Uhm, I was thinking Hogsmeade as you probably haven't seen it recently and neither have I." She placed a kiss on Fleur's cheek.

"Eet would be great." This time it was Hermione's time to yawn. "I should go."

After organizing everything, they kissed goodbye and the brunette stared at the flames until they vanished. As on cue, Ginny strolled into the room, Harry right after her.

"Ah, she's gone…"

"Yep." Hermione said tiredly.

"Well, good night." Ginny said, walking towards the stairs. "Heart eyes." She added as she reached its bottom. Harry followed her suit while Hermione rolled her eyes and the followed them.

The next day made Hermione worried sick. She knew they were supposed to meet the headmistress after lunch and that, according to her, it wasn't a bad thing. She decided that it was better for her own sanity to occupy her mind with something else, therefore she was now sitting by her favorite table on the library studying, obviously. That was something she was proud of herself, being able to focus on her studies and keep most of her worries from her mind. Well, her main worries actually made her study harder as soon as she noticed they would always be put in danger. The boys were always reckless and indeed she saved their lives many times. She realized she had been starring at the same page of her transfiguration book for a while and quickly shook her head so she could focus again on her reading. About an hour later the bell chimed and it was lunch time. As on cue an also worried-looking Harry strolled into the library. He had been practicing quidditch with Ginny to keep his mind off the meeting.

"Hey," He said quietly when he reached her. She raised her hand, gesturing for him to wait. As soon as she finished reading the paragraph she looked away from the book.

"Hi! Lunch?" He simply nodded. "Aren't you going to take a shower first?"

"Did it already. Gin told me to come fletch you or you would get late." He smiled and she rolled her eyes, but both knew it was true. She organized her papers and books quickly and placed everything on her bag.

"Let's go."

Luna and Ginny met them at the entrance of the great hall, both looking curious and worried. When they sat on their usual spot to eat, the headmistress went to talk to them.

"Take your time, as soon as you finish, go to my office. I'll be waiting." She smiled at them.

They exchanged worried looks as they started eating. About half an hour later they were seen walking towards the headmistress tower, rather anxious. As soon as they got to gargoyle, Ginny quickly said the password and they were heading up. Hesitantly stopping at the door, Hermione knocked and they heard McGonagall's voice telling them to get in.

"Please take a seat. I'll explain the reason I requested you to be here and then we can discuss what to do." They nodded silently as the four of them sat in front of her and waited for her to begin.

"For once they are not here because of something wrong nor life threatening." Snape's voice sounded from the wall, and Dumbledore's chuckling could be heard after. The four of them looked at both paintings surprised and McGonagall starred at the first, annoyed.

"Well, I have received a great number of requests and questions about the extracurricular activities. One of the most requested is the Dumbledore's Army to be allowed back into action." She smiled at them as they gasped. "I understand that three years ago the DA was founded so you could truly learn Defense Against Dark Arts since Dolores Umbridge and the ministry denied you that. It has come to my knowledge that some of the students that were listed to be on it, have developed greatly on that subject. Knowing that, I'd like to ask you if you are interested." She explained, when she saw Hermione and Harry exchange looks she added: "It's your organization. You founded it. Obviously, we will need at least one graduate to assist you, but that person doesn't have to be a teacher."

"That's awesome!" Ginny squealed.

"Gin, I'm not so sure. We are on our last year here." Harry said, quietly.

"And we have the N.E.W.T.s…"

"I know you two have been missing some action! And we are actively studying while we are at the DA!" Ginny stated excitedly.

"When you put it that way…" Hermione nodded and looked to Harry as he thought about the matter. "It's actually your decision…"

"Yeah, I think we could manage that." He smiled at the three others. "But I want to suggest you three to be teachers too." He smiled and the three girls nodded, knowing he wanted to acknowledge their achievements during the war.

"Great! Now we have some things to discuss. As to who would assist you…" McGonagall began.

"Could it be Fleur?" Harry interrupted her.

"If she has the time, yes. I had a feeling you would mention her name." The Headmistress smiled at Harry and then at Hermione, who instantly blushed.

They continued discussing for about two hours. They left the office and headed to the Gryffindor common room.

"We should celebrate." Harry stated, happily, as they reached the painting.

"I didn't know you missed the DA so badly, Harry…" Hermione said.

"Not that. Do you even know what day is today?" Ginny said, knowing what Harry had in mind.

"Not really…" Hermione said, trying to remember what they could possibly be celebrating.

"That's golden! The brains of the G.T. can't remember her own birthday!" Ginny teased as they entered the Gryffindor common room, leaving Hermione shocked. How could she forget her own birthday?

"We actually have it planned. Go change, we meet here in half an hour. We're heading to Hogsmeade." Harry smiled at her. Obviously, he noticed she didn't realize her birthday was so close.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Sorry, I had no time to upload it yesterday…
> 
> Anyways, It's Up! I'll try to keep the translations that way (italic an underlined) okay? Or you don't need them?
> 
> I hope you enjoyed it!
> 
> Next one is 'Mione's birthday!
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Please review! Lets see if you can guess what will happen on the next one!
> 
> ;3


	22. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guys, I'm on a small trip for my mother's birthday and I really had no time to proofread this chapter. I hope it's not too full of mistakes! Enjoy!

Hermione went to her bedroom quickly, wondering what she would use as she didn't bring much muggle clothes to Hogwarts and certainly none would fit a party night. As soon as she entered her room she noticed some clothes carefully placed on her bed. A red t-shirt, white jeans and the leather jacket that was currently her favorite pies of clothing. Realizing that Ginny was probably the one behind that, she made a mental note to thank the redhead. She changed and headed back to the common room. They were all already there, waiting for her and the three had changed too. As she approached them, she heard someone call her. Looking to where the voice came she saw Moire and smiled.

"Hi, Moire!"

"Uhm, hi! I wanted to go with you to Hogsmeade but clearly I can't. So I asked my parents to buy this for you…" The girl smiled, showing a package wrapped in red and gold.

"Thanks, Moire! But you shouldn't have…"

"I wanted to. Hope you like it! Enjoy your night…" As soon as Hermione took the gift, she hugged her and went running towards the dorms.

"That's sweet…" Luna said, smiling. They all nodded.

"Hey, put it here." Ginny said, extending the bag she was carrying. "You can open it later. We have to go…"

No matter how much she asked, they denied to give her any information about who would be there. To be honest, she was simply following them not even knowing where they were headed to. At least they took the normal access to the village, a carriage was expecting them at the castle's entrance. They walked towards the Three Broomsticks, Hermione as unconsciously nervous. Not knowing what was going to happen making her restless. Harry noticed it and side hugged her.

"Relax. There are only people who you would want to see." He said, smiling.

"I just can't believe I forgot my own birthday…" She said quietly as they walked.

"I figured you would. Your mind is full with other worries…" Harry said.

"Yeah, full of a certain veela!" Ginny said, laughing. Her three friends laughed of her blushing the rest of the way. When they reached the entry of the pub, Ginny knocked in a certain pattern Hermione recognized as one she used with her brothers and opened the door after a second.

"Happy birthday!" She heard a chorus scream and felt Harry guide her inside the inn. Hermione was beaming, seeing all of her friends were there, everyone from the DA and the Order.

"Your parents couldn't come, but said they want to have lunch with you tomorrow." Harry told her as she recognized who was there. She nodded.

A beaming Fleur approached her. Hermione smiled even more, if that was possible.

"Bon anniversaire, 'ermione!" She motioned to hug her, but Hermione decided to kiss her. And obviously a wolf whistle was heard, from Ginny as she guessed. As they pulled back, they beamed at each other. Hermione tried to ignore the noise the rest of her friends were doing, half of them were completely dumbfounded but the other half screamed 'finally's and 'It's damn time!'.

"Thank you…" She said quietly. After the completely pulled away, Fleur handled her a package. Opening, she revealed a jewelry box. Her eyes flicked from the gift to Fleur.

"Open it…" Fleur was smiling, Hermione could see the glee sparkling on her eyes.

As soon as she clicked the opening bottom, she was in awe. A silver otter pendant held by a delicate silver chain in it. She felt her eyes fill with tears as she looked at it. When she looked at Fleur, she saw the blonde's eyes full with concern. "It's beautiful! Thanks!" She softly kissed her and moved so the veela could place it around her neck. Hermione felt a light kiss on her neck as soon as the other woman finished.

After that, everyone in the inn went to talk to her and give her their gifts. These Ginny forced her to put inside the bag or it would take forever for them to sit. Fleur never left her side. When there were no one else left to talk to them, Ginny shrunk the bag and gave it to Harry so he could keep it until they got back to their bedrooms. A waiter passed through them and Fleur paused him, taking two drinks on her hands.

"Firewhiskey?" Fleur extended one of the glassed to her, which she accepted.

Taking in the interior of the bar, she noticed the usual booths had been replaced by several small round tables and one that she guessed she was supposed to sit, as it was the biggest one. Dobby appeared and said something to Harry, who thanked him. The house elf, then, wished happy birthday to her and vanished.

"Dinner is about to begin!" Harry stated loudly and directed her and Fleur to the bigger table. After dinner, she could hear everyone chatter and enjoyed her conversation with her closest friends. After a while, Madam Rosmerta appeared from the kitchens with a rather big cake and everyone begun to sing happy birthday to her. Obviously, the twins managed to sing louder then everyone and awfully out of tone and soon the music became an absurd cacophony. As it finished and Hermione blew the candles, Fred began to chant for a speech joined closely by everyone in the room. She shook her head, not really knowing what to say. Harry stood, holding his glass and smiled as everybody's voice calmed down.

"Hello!" Everyone screamed hi to him. "I guess 'Mione doesn't know what to say, for once." He smiled as he heard laughs and saw his friend's face become red. "So I'll begin the toast. Eight years passed since I first knew her. We were coming to Hogwarts for the first time and Ron here was trying to change his rat's color, the spell didn't work in case you are wondering." He began to remember their first encounter, making everyone laugh at his last phrase. "Hermione entered the cabin we were sharing as he begun to perform it. And as soon as he failed it, she said she had already learned some spells and demonstrated it by mending my glasses. Which she had to do again more times then I like to admit." Once more everyone laughed. Then he turned serious. "I'd like to say our friendship begun then but it actually happened a few weeks into the school year that I believe we really became friends. Ron said something that really upset her and she hide at a girl's bathroom. That was the same night a troll invaded the school." A gasp was heard from the few that hadn't heard the story. "We went looking for her to make her get back to the common room but we were kind of late and the troll was in the exact same bathroom as she." Another gasp. "We managed to make it pass out." Cheers. "I believe she thought she owned us her life, because since then she has been saving mine and Ron's." Laughs and mostly nods from their friends as most recalled their adventures. He turned to her and smiled, "Thanks for all the adventures we had. I hope we are able to have some more."

"Preferably not life threatening!" Someone said loudly. Hermione guessed it was Mrs. Weasley.

"Yes." He answered and raised his glass. "To Hermione" After everyone cheered, he smiled and added: "Thanks for being my sister." Hermione couldn't stop smiling. Ginny got up from Harry's side and smiled at her.

"I hope you are ready to hear some embarrassing stories about the birthday girl!" The twins screamed agreeing and Hermione groaned. "Relax, I'll tell only one…" The brunette starred at her and Ginny relented. "Sorry guys, I just received the Granger Glare…" Everyone laughed, apparently knowing what she was talking about. "No embarrassing stories… Anyway, I'll have to be content with thanking her for being my friend ever since we met and for taking care of these two apes here." She pointed at her boyfriend and brother as everyone laughed. She sat back and smiled at Hermione, who returned the smile. The room became quiet once again.

Hermione was too distracted thanking Ginny for not saying anything to notice that another person had gotten up and was preparing to say something. "Well, 'ello everyone!" She froze as she heard Fleur's voice. After some cheering from the twins, the french continued: "I guess I can't say 'ermione and I were friend's from zee beginning eizer, 'arry. So we are in zee same boat." She paused as everyone started laughing. "But compared to yours I might 'ave to say my friendship wiz 'er ees simply beginning. Alzough I feel like eet's been ages." She winked at Hermione. "I don't really 'ave much to say about 'er zat you all don't know. But I might 'ave to say I've been 'earing about 'er since before I came 'ere to the Triwizard Tournament. Apparently, being friends wiz 'arry Potter makes you famous worldwide. But not only, I 'eard some zat knew 'er say zat she was probably zee brightest witch of 'er age and zat we all know ees nothing but zee truz." Hermione blushed slightly. "But you see, when I came to England for zee first time I was quite idiot and actually zought zee world should be at my feet. 'Ermione was one of zee only ones zat didn't agree wiz me, as my thrall didn't work on 'er. I believe she 'ated me until recently…" Hermione blushed even deeply. "I don't know eef all of you are familiar wiz some of zee veela traditions…" The majority nodded. "Good, so you will probably understand." Hermione froze, what on earth is she going to say? "When zese three came back from zeir journey and we went into zee last battle against Voldemort," some gasped and others froze at the mention of his name, "As soon as I saw 'er appear I noticed somezing different about 'er and in me. I felt my veela stir." Some smiled knowingly and others gasped as soon as they understood what her words meant. Hermione's face was becoming redder as Fleur spoke. "For zee rest of zee battle I observed 'er and 'elped zem as much as I could. Two days after zat battle, it came to my knowledge zat, before going on zat journey to 'elp 'arry, she 'ad erased 'erself from 'er parents memories in order to keep zem safe from zee death eaters. Zat made me admire 'er even more zan I ever did. I 'ad the opportunity to 'elp 'er wiz zee spell to bring zeir memories back. She ees indeed zee most brilliant witch of 'er age." Hermione's face was so red that her ears and her neck were beginning to get red too. "I 'ope our friendship survives for years. Zank you for being yourself and letting me be your friend." Fleur smiled at her and raised her glass. "To zee brightest witch of 'er age!" Everyone laughed and repeated her.

Fred raised his glass and shouted: "To the brains of the Golden Trio!" She and Harry groaned at the nickname while Ron simply smiled. Fleur sat back, beaming at her, and placed a kiss on her cheek. With that, Hermione felt herself relaxing. Whoa! She's falling hard for Fleur. She looked at the blonde and smiled at her.

"Want some wine?" The french asked, apparently seeing she almost didn't touch her firewhiskey. Hermione nodded and the blonde got up once again and went to the counter, where Madam Rosmerta was and returned with two glasses of wine. "Eet will refil eetself. Papa and Maman sent you a bottle of our finest, but zis ees ze same we 'ad last Sunday."

"Thank you!" Hermione said, accepting the glass and giving Fleur a quick kiss.

The night went on and when all of them decided to leave and go to sleep, the sun was almost rising. Hermione was grateful about the wine Fleur had brought because it kept her from being completely drunk as Harry and Ginny were. The blonde offered to walk her to her room, knowing she would be able to floo back home from there. Hermione smiled at Fleur as they entered the living room. The silence there was really good. A moment later, Harry and Ginny entered the room laughing and talking loudly, she rolled her eyes and thanked every possible god that she had the spirit of casting a silencing spell on their room. As soon as the closed the door, everything went silent again. Fleur raised a brow to her, silently asking what happened.

"I casted a silencing spell before we left to the inn." She smiled proudly.

"Zee brightest witch…" Fleur murmured and nodded. Hermione simply blushed.

"Are you tired? Want to stay a little longer?"

"Non, I could stay eef you wish." Both smiled and sat on a couch. Hermione got comfortable besides Fleur and leaned the head at her shoulder. She heard the sound of her new pendant sliding through the chain and smiled, looking at it. Changing the way she sat, Hermione managed to kiss Fleur's cheek who smiled and looked at her.

"Thank you." She motioned to the small silver otter.

"Je t'en prie mon cher…" Fleur said.

"I might have to learn French…" Hermione chuckled.

"I said you are welcome…" the blonde smiled.

"Oh…" She kissed Fleur once more. Those kissed were kind of addictive. "So, that date next Saturday…"

"Oui?"

"Still want to go?" Hermione asked, blushing.

"Of course. What time should I be 'ere?"

"How about two in the afternoon?"

"Perfect."

They stayed in silence for a while, hugging each other. Hermione snuggled closer to Fleur and placed a kiss on the blonde's neck, after kissing her deeply, which made the veela shiver slightly. Hermione smiled, noticing the other's reaction.

* * *

Fleur heard the brunette's breath begin to get even and calm. Smiling, it was the second time she had fallen asleep on her arms, she carefully got up making sure she wouldn't wake Hermione up. She then took the sleeping woman in her arms and got up stairs in order to put her in the bed. Writing a note to Hermione and making sure the alarm clock was set so she wouldn't miss lunch with her parents, Fleur left.

As soon as she reached her flat, Fleur sighed. She didn't know how but every day that passed she was falling more in love with the brunette. Quickly taking a potion to keep her from a headache when she wakes up, she changed and went to sleep happily.

* * *

Hermione woke up the next day on her bed and with a slight headache about five minutes before the alarm clock went off. Tuning it off, she crawled out of her bed and searched for the headache potion she knew she had. After taking it, she noticed a peace of paper on her nightstand. She curiously took it and before she read it, she recognized Fleur's handwriting. Hermione placed it aside deciding to read it as soon as she was ready to leave, knowing she was a little late and she still had to get ready to leave to her parents' house. Hopefully it would make her get ready quicker. About an hour later, Hermione was ready and sat on her bed to read the note.

_Good Morning, Hermione!_

_Hope you didn't get a hangover. You slept so I brought you up, sorry if I did wrong. Can't wait for our date, I hope to hear from you this week. If not, see you Friday._

_With love,_

_Fleur_

Hermione smiled at the note and placed it along with the letters the blonde had written to her, in a little box she kept on the nightstand's drawer. She left her room quickly and went downstairs, it was quite obvious to her that Ginny and Harry were yet to wake up. Flooing to her parents house should be the best option so she first checked to see if she would be able to go there. She called them from the fireplace and when she saw it was okay, she flooed there. It has been a while since she had visited her parents. She smiled while taking in the surroundings. Nothing changed, she stated in her mind.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, birthday speeches! Hope you liked this as much as I loved writing it! And PDA! Thanks for reading!  
> Please comment and leave kudos!  
> And everybody guessed right!  
> ;3
> 
> PS: If you feel like sending me requests suggestions or prompts, feel free to reach me by inbox or email me: celticdaughterfics@gmail.com!


	23. Chapter 22

"Mom?" She heard a noise of things being placed on the table. She walked towards the dining room.

"Hermione, dear. You are just in time!" Her mother hugged her and placed a kiss on the forehead. Pulling back, she smiled. "Honey, she is here! And I think we should have lunch already…"

"Going!" Her father answered from upstairs. In less than a minute, her appeared. He, too, hugged her and kissed her forehead.

They ate in relative silence as apparently, they were all starving. After the finished eating, Hermione's mother walked into the kitchen once again and came out with a small cake and she and her father begun singing happy birthday to her. As they finished singing and Hermione blew the candles, they started talking. First the apologized for not being able to go to the party the previous day. The simple mention of the party made the brunette blush, something that clearly didn't pass unnoticed by her mother as she had a curious look towards her. Hermione asked they how they had been, hoping the change of subject would delay that specific issue. She was incredibly afraid of how they would react. She started fidgeting her fingers with the simple thought of that conversation. Hermione managed to control her nerves for a while, entranced by what they were telling her about how they had been. As soon as they stopped talking and her mother asked her how she had been, Hermione sighed. There was no way for her to talk about it without telling them about Fleur. By then they had moved to the living room to be more comfortable.

"I, uhm… I've been fine… I actually need to talk to you about something but I need you to have in mind that I haven't really changed, it's just something I realized about me and…" Hermione chocked, fearing they would have a bad reaction. "And I hope you are able to accept about me." They nodded, letting her continue. "Since I came back with you from Australia, I started to realize that, but I didn't want to say nothing before I was sure I knew what was happening to me…" Nodding, her mother motioned her to continue. "I… I like Fleur." She blurted and started to cry, already expecting their rash response.

"Yes, we know that, darling." She heard her mother say.

"In a romantic manner, I mean" she said, thinking she might had expressed herself badly.

"Yes." Her mother said yet again, kindly.

"We do know that."

Hermione finally gathered enough courage to look at them as she had been hiding her face in her hands since she began to cry. They both had worried looks, but none appeared to be judging her nor angry at her.

"Hermione, come here." Her mother tapped the small space between her and her husband. Hermione tentatively stood and walked there. "I'll tell exactly when I knew you liked her, ok?" She said soothing Hermione's hair. The younger woman nodded. "When you made us recognize you and got our memories of you back, do you remember I asked about who was the owner of the surname your friend had presented you to us?" She nodded, remembering how she had blushed. "Well, I'm proud to say I still know my daughter pretty well." Hermione heard her father mumble something. "Your father honestly only realized something was happening at the Weasleys' dinner" She laughed. "He is still bewildered he didn't notice before." She added smiling kindly at her daughter.

"Anyway, we waited for you to tell us because we figured you would need to think about it. We never thought you would delay telling us because you were afraid of our reaction…"

"I think I got overwhelmed from the books I read about coming out and ended up this afraid…" Hermione said as she calmed herself down.

"Now, tell us about Fleur. From what I was capable of see, she is very beautiful and french." Her mother requested. Hermione blushed.

"Well, there is something about her that you might need to know before I say anything else about her." Hermione moved to where she was before she sat with her parents. They nodded expectantly. "Well, do you remember those old mythology books we used to read?" They nodded and she continued to explain about the veelas. When she finished speaking, they had their jaws dropped. But Hermione knew them enough to know they were completely amazed by the new information.

"The Vila exist?" Her father said.

"Not exactly the vila, veelas are semi-human. But you can say they existed, at very least…"

"I see…" Her mother began, looking at her daughter, carefully. "And you told us that because…"

"Fleur is a quarter veela, which means her grandmother was a full veela who found her mate in a wizard as has her mother."

"Oh! That's why her hair look like platinum?" Her mother asked.

"Yes…" And why most people are drawn to her, she thought.

"And I'm right to assume you are her mate?" Once again her mother surprised her, she nodded nonetheless. "Then when are we going to meet your girlfriend?" She beamed as she saw her daughter's face become quickly red at the unexpected question.

"You already know her and she's not my girlfriend, yet." Hermione said, hiding her face causing both of her parents to laugh amused by her antics.

"Ooh! Yet!" Her father said mockingly.

At that moment, Hermione decided that they had already teased her too much and begun to tell them how her last month had been. She blushed every time she had do say something about Fleur and felt like dying when she told them about their first date. "Smooth! She was quite lucky, it's not a play produced very often." Her father said as she retold the date. They were happy to hear she was happy and in love. When she finished, it was getting late and she had promised to have dinner at Hogwarts with Harry, Ginny and Luna. She, then, said goodbye and guaranteed them that she would try to get in touch more often and that she would tell them as soon as she and Fleur were officially dating.

Hermione arrived at the living room pretty tired and just in time for dinner. As she stepped out of the fireplace, she saw Harry and Ginny descending the stairs. She smiled at them.

"Hi lovebirds…" She said.

"Hello, 'Mione! How did lunch go?" Ginny answered.

"Wonderful!" She said, beaming.

"I know that face, you have good news." Harry said, after hugging her. For a moment, he starred into her eyes as if trying to read her mind. Hermione said nothing, silently challenging him to figure it out. She had shared her fears with him some time before. "Wait. You came out?" Hermione nodded and Harry immediately hugged her once again. "I imagine it went well as I told you it would."

"Yes."

"Hey! Don't leave me hanging! You came out? To your parents?" Ginny beamed as Hermione nodded. "Oooh, she's planning on asking Fleur to be her girlfriend!" The redhead clapped her hands excitedly.

"How do you know that?" Hermione asked, blushing even deeper.

"Harry is your brother, 'Mione, but I'm your best friend. I, too, know how your mind works." She stated and hugged the brunette. "Now, let's go to the great hall or we are going to be late for dinner! I'm starving!" Knowing better than to stay in between Ginny and food, they followed her as she went through the access to the hall. They met Luna on their way to the great hall and the redhead exclaimed "'Mione is going to ask her to be her girlfriend!" before she could say anything to Luna.

"Awn!" The looney blonde smiled and hugged Hermione happily.

"And came out to her parents!" Ginny added.

"That's how you know she'll ask her…" Luna said, laughing. "I didn't really expect her to tell right away her plans…" Hermione looked at her, wondering how the blonde knew them so well. Noticing her stare, Luna smiled. "I observe a lot." The brunette nodded.

Hermione's next day was exhaustive, beyond classes, her boss had a huge pile of paper for her to review and she was helping Harry to plan the first DA meeting that would happen in two weeks. They had been deciding on what to do for two hours and then Ginny gave the idea of inviting the previous DA members to meet the new ones. The four liked the idea and decided to ask if it would be possible to do that. They retrieved to their respective rooms after that. Hermione entered hers to find a letter carefully placed near a steamy cup of tea.

Sipping the tea, she thanked Dobby out loud, knowing it was his doing. She, then took the letter and opened it. Smiling even before reading the first line.

_Dear Hermione,_

_I hope you had a good day. I caught myself wondering how you were and decided to write as I can only imagine how busy you are, if Evangeline sent you as much work as Tonks sent Harry. Before you ask me how I managed to get it so quickly to you, I kind of asked Jilpy to get it to Dobby and ask him to make sure it reached you. I seriously hope it works. When I asked her (I did it before I began to write) she said she was happy to help. I'm yet to go to field again, there's a frightening amount of paperwork in my desk but I hope it will be finished by Wednesday. I'm growing restless._

_How are you doing? And your lunch with your parents? I hope it went well._

_Bonne nuit,_

_Fleur_

_P.S.: Maman sent you two bottles of wine. I can bring it to you on Friday if you wish._

_P.P.S.: I really need to say this: I miss you. And your kiss._

Hermione was yet to stop smiling when she got up from her bed and decided to write back to Fleur. As she finished writing, she whispered to Dobby, asking if he was still awake. With a pop, he appeared.

"Dobby figured miss Granger would want to write back." He said, smiling, after she asked him if he could send the letter to Fleur. He caught the letter and popped away. She smiled and got ready to sleep. Practically passing out as soon as her head hit the pillow.

* * *

Fleur had decided to make some exercises after sending Hermione what she wrote, knowing she was too anxious to be able to sleep just yet. She was doing some push-ups when she heard a low pop right beside her. Knowing what it might be, she smiled and looked in its direction. Dobby said good night to her, leaving the letter on the coffee table and popped away, saying he had to go back to the school. She finished the set she was doing and got up, retrieving the letter form the table. Feeling too sticky because of the sweat, she decided to take a shower before reading it, in bed. Much more relaxed, Fleur laid in bed to read what Hermione had written. She hadn't worried about using pijamas as it was an unusual warm night.

_Hello, Fleur!_

_Your letter just made my day, actually! It was a very exhausting day. The classes were good, my best subjects actually, transfiguration and charms. Harry complained his brain would be overheated any second. Yes, Evangeline sent me basically the same amount of work. When we aren't studying, we are working. I believe I forgot to tell you what transpired on the meeting with professor McGonagall, she said there has been a lot of requests to reactivate the DA but this time as an official extracurricular club. She asked us if we had interest in doing so, we agreed. I think we are actually getting crazy. She will probably get in touch with you soon given she asked us to suggest a graduate to assist us during the meeting and we asked for you. Well, Harry did. I was a little shy at the moment, but I did think of you. I really hope you can come._

_Lunch went smoothly, it had been a while since I talked to them so they made me promise I would reach out for them more frequently._

_I would love the wine! Please bring it._

_Hope Dobby gets you still up._

_Good night,_

_Hermione_

_P.S.: Miss you too. And you kisses and hugs._

With that, Fleur put the letter on her nightstand and dozed off.

She obviously wanted to write to Hermione right after waking up but didn't want to disturb her, although reading that she missed her too had left her longing for the brunette even more. Her mother had said to her once that finding a mate wasn't easy but controlling yourself after finding them was ever harder. The hunger she felt towards Hermione was almost unbearable at least when they were apart, she needed the brunette by her site. Oh boy, it would probably be the worst and better year of her life. Unless something changed. At least Hermione wasn't in danger. She couldn't imagine how she would have been if she recognized the lioness as her mate before the war ended. For that she had to thank her veela…

Fleur had a horrid Tuesday. She was hopelessly chained to her desk until she finished all the paperwork and overnight some more had arrived. What kept her focused was thinking the sooner she finished that, the sooner she would be able to go to the field.

"Hey, I'm going to lunch." Bill said, rising from his chair. She just nodded. "Are you coming?"

"Non. I desperately want to finish zis." She said, grimacing.

"Want me to bring you a sandwich? I won't be long. I kind of want the field too."

"It would be awesome! Thanks, Bill!" She smiled at him and he left.

Half an hour later, he was yet to return and her stomach was seriously complaining about the lack of food. She focused harder on the parchment in front of her. When she heard steps in the room, Fleur automatically guessed it was her co-worker. No one ever entered there.

"Finally! I'm starving!" She said, without looking up.

"Uh, I can buy you something to eat if you need, Fleur…" Her head shot up.

"'ermione!" She smiled sweetly, incapable of keeping it from her face. A moment later she got serious. "What 'appened? Why are you 'ere?" Concern reached her face in a second.

"Calm down. Nothing happened. I just had the afternoon free after miraculously finishing all the work Evangeline sent me and decided to get a book from her library for light reading." Hermione was indeed holding a book. But Fleur would hardly call it light reading. "Then I figured I could pay you a visit. You said you'd be here all day… I'm sorry if I'm disturbing you."

Fleur quickly stood. "Definitely not disturbing." She smiled.

"Bill said that to me… I believe he had some food with him. But he went in another direction when I asked where was your office…" Hermione smiled at her, eyes shining.

"Uhm…" Fleur lost herself in the lioness' eyes. Miraculously not crashing into something in her way, because she seemingly was unable to withdraw her eyes from Hermione, she hugged the brunette. Moving her head a little, the lioness kissed her chastely.

"Hi…" Hermione said as soon as they pulled back, smiling.

"'ello" She grinned and kissed her again.

"So, how's work?"

"Dreadful." She grimaced. "But you just made eet bearable…" Hermione laughed, kissing her cheek.

"Smooth. I can't really stay here for too long, unfortunately… But I'm glad I helped."

Fleur grinned. "A lot. Oh, Minerva reached me today."

"Really?" The blonde could see a glint of hope on the other's eyes.

"Oui. She told me about zee DA and explained me what I'm supposed to do."

"Oh…" The lioness was obviously eager to know her resolve about the matter.

"I said I might be able to assist you, as zee meetings will be on weekends." Fleur smiled.

"Thank you, Fleur!" Hermione hugged her, delighted. "I'll let Harry and the girls know as soon as I get back."

"Je t'en prie mon cher." Fleur said, cupping her face. Mon cher. Was she rushing things by saying it? She hoped not. The blonde was apparently incapable of not saying it to her. Snapping back into reality, Fleur looked at her smiling and kissed her. It was a calm but deep kiss.

They starred into each other eyes for a moment after they pulled back. Hermione's eyes flicked to the clock hung in the room and grimaced.

"I must get back…" She, then, looked at Fleur and smiled. "See you Friday?" The blonde nodded. "Great! I think Harry will want to discuss the DA matter too…" She said thoughtfully.

"We can figure eet out zen." The blonde said, placing a kiss on her cheek. "I must get back to work. Eef you see Bill in your way back, tell him I'm starving." She added, laughing as her stomach complained loudly.

"Sure thing. Have a good afternoon…" Hermione said, after giving her a goodbye kiss.

"You too." Fleur replied. The brunette smiled at her from the door. With a sigh, the veela went back to work ignoring her rumbling stomach. A couple of minutes later Bill showed off, smirking, and gave her the sandwich he had offered with a bottle of pumpkin juice.

"Happier?" He asked, obviously not referring to the food he had just gave her. She hummed in agreement, making him smile.

She refocused on her work as soon as she finished her unhealthy lunch.

* * *

Going to Fleur's office was obviously the best idea she had ever had. Hermione was happier for the next two days and then she was happy because she would see her again by the end of the day. Merlin, she was really head over hills for her.

"Hey, Hermione!" Ginny's voice made her get back to reality. "I don't even need to ask what you are thinking about. I'd be astounded if it's not obvious to half of this school that you have your eyes on someone…" She laughed as Hermione focused her eyes on her and childishly stuck out her tongue.

"What do you want, Ginny?" She said, rolling her eyes.

"Oh, it's just that we are late for History of Magic." The redhead said. The four of them had decided to spend the break they had just before their last class of the week by the lake and apparently lost track of time. "Absurdly late, actually. Let's just go to the common room…"

Hermione nodded, knowing that they would lose their time trying to go to the class. She would apologize to the ghost teacher next class. As soon as they reached their living room, the four of them begun discussing their plans to the DA meeting. Luna had talked to the headmistress about their idea but it wouldn't be possible to accomplish because almost everyone they reached already had plans or something. Hermione sent Fleur her silver otter to let her know she could get there earlier. About an hour later, they were all standing by the table, looking at a list with the names of the students that showed their interest in the "club". As they were all discussing how to measure everyone's ability, none of them noticed as the blonde entered the room through the flames of the fireplace. Hermione startled and almost got a hold of her wand when Fleur approached her from behind, only to relax instantly after the blonde hugged her.

"'ello, 'ermione…" she heard the veela murmur on her ear, causing goosebumps all over her skin.

"Hi, Fleur…" her voice came out quite hoarse and she felt her face getting hot. She turned on her arms and kissed her deeply only stopping when Harry cleared his throat. Hermione looked at him and he looked away. "Come on, you and ginny do worse. Shush." Luna and Ginny simply gave the women amused looks as Harry blushed

"That's kind of true, babe…" Ginny agreed, making him blush even more.

"'ello everyone!" Fleur said before anyone made Harry even more frustrated. He smiled at her and the three said hi. "What are you doing?" She asked, looking over Hermione's shoulder as the brunette focused back on the parchment on the table. "Oh! Zat's a lot of people…" She smiled. Ginny, who was standing between Harry and Hermione made the boy move and gave Fleur space around the table. "Merci." Hermione noticed Fleur had moved to her side but was still holding her by her waist and smiled.

"Yes, almost too many… I don't really know how we are going to fit everyone in one room." Ginny said.

"Doesn't the vanishing room fit our necessities?" Harry asked.

"I'm not sure. We never really tried to expand its capacity. But it may work. I just don't know if we should have so many performing magic at the same time." Hermione answered.

"We could split them in two fronts." suggested Luna

"One group could study zee zeory while zee ozer zee practical." Fleur added, making Hermione beam.

"I do like the idea!" Harry smiled at them.

"We make a good team." Luna said, smiling back.

"Oui." Fleur smiled. "What are you planning to do next Saturday?"

"At first we thought we could call everyone back for a chat but basically no one can make it." Luna answered.

"Now we were thinking about what to do…" Hermione added. "Right before you arrived." She smiled.

"We could still 'ave a conversation at least to know what zey want to learn…" Fleur proposed.

"I like it." Ginny said, smiling. "Now, can we eat?"

The other four started laughing and nodded. They all agreed to have dinner together so they could finish their plans so Harry called Dobby and asked him to get food for them. They began to eat as soon as the house elf came back.

"Our next problem is how we will be able to know their abilities…" Hermione provided.

"Duels?" Ginny said.

"Eet might work. Do we have any first years?"

"No. And just a couple of second years." Luna answered. "They are quite ahead from their class, according to professor McGonagall."

"Duels are a good idea…" Harry said, smiling at his girlfriend.

As they finished eating, they had decided everything they wanted to. Ginny and Harry headed to the common room and Luna went to the Ravenclaw tower after saying goodbye to Fleur and Hermione. The lioness smiled at the veela and hugged her, sighing as she felt the blonde's arms around her.

"Hey…" She said.

"'ey…" Fleur answered.

"Wanna chill for a while?"

"Oui… 'ow 'ave you been?"

Hermione looked at her with a raised brow. "You heard from me literally every day, Fleur…"

"From letters. I do like to 'ear your voice." Fleur smiled at her as she blushed. She relented and begun to retell her week and then made Fleur do the same. Half an hour later, they resumed their work. A few hours later Hermione put down the papers she had been reading. It was the last one she had to review that night. Sighing, she leaned on Fleur waiting for her to finish reading.

"Are we finished?" Fleur asked, putting down her file as Hermione nodded.

"Yes…" She said, placing a kiss on the blonde's cheek.

"So, zat date…" Hermione hummed. "What are you planning?"

"You'll find out tomorrow."

"Fair enough. I'll meet you 'ere two in zee afternoon?" Hermione nodded.

The lioness and Fleur stayed in each other's arms until they began to yawn. The veela decided to go, kissing the brunette goodbye.

"See you tomorrow…" Hermione murmured then Fleur gave her on last kiss and walked into the fireplace, vanishing.

Hermione woke up the next day early. She was obviously anxious and begun organizing everything she needed to make sure the day would be perfect.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: So I know it's been a while, sorry about that... I'll try to get back to the schedule... So, Hope you liked the chapter, the date date with Mione paying is next. (and was SO fun to write...). Hermione comming out was basically how it happened when I did, so yeah... I'm lucky...
> 
> Please comment and leave me kudos!
> 
> ;3
> 
> PS: I'M KIND OF WRITING A ONESHOT(at least trying to as I'm apparently incapable of writing a short story...) OF GINMIONE. Let me know if you are interested...
> 
> PPS: If you feel like sending me requests suggestions or prompts, feel free to reach me by PM or email me: celticdaughterfics (gmail)


	24. Chapter 23

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Since I believe I won't have time to upload this tomorrow, here it is!

Fleur spent the first part of the Saturday worrying. She didn't know what Hermione planned. She decided to have lunch earlier to make sure she would be there on time. After eating, she chose her clothes and began to get ready. As she finished, she sighed after realizing how terribly nervous she was. She had chosen black skinny jeans, a gray tank top, and a dark gray jacket.

"Zat's ridiculous. Eet's not our first date…" she said to herself. She startled as she heard her doorbell. "What zee fuck?" She murmured and then shouted from her room: "Coming!"

The moment she opened the door she was dumbfounded.

"Bill?" The redhead seemed completely out of air as if he had run the whole way from the ministry to there.

"Hi…" He leaned on the doorframe to catch his breath, "I'm terribly sorry for disturbing you today…" Fleur started to worry, she had never really seen him so agitated.

"What 'appened?"

"Lucius Malfoy has been seen." Fleur felt her vision get sharper. "I thought you would like to know…"

The veela was completely lost in her thoughts to see the men in front of her subtle smile. She was looking directly in his eyes as a red rose floated into her eyesight. Fleur looked at it with wide eyes then looked at her friend, who was now openly smirking. She held the flower as if it would vanish.

"Thanks, Bill." She heard the voice she had already been missing the moment she left the castle the night before.

"Not a problem." The redhead sent Fleur an apologetic look and disapparated.

Fleur was completely frozen on the spot but sensed Hermione move from where she was and hug her reassuringly. She felt her body immediately relax a little.

"I'm sorry about that… I actually asked him to distract you, I didn't think he would get so low." Hermione kissed Fleur's shoulder chuckling a little bit. "I guess he knew it would catch you full attention. Sorry. He asked me to tell you that it's not true, in case you are wondering."

Fleur snapped back into reality as soon as she heard it wasn't true and relaxed completely in the brunette's arms. "Merde." She closed the door still a little out.

"I'm deeply sorry." She heard Hermione say before turning around and looking into her eyes.

"Eet's okay, chéri." She leaned in to kiss the brunette, not thinking twice.

"I wanted to surprise you…" The lioness said shyly, making Fleur chuckle.

"'ey, eet's not exactly your fault." She kissed the younger woman again, softly. "And you did surprise me. I loved the flower, eet's beautiful. Merci." Only then Hermione smiled at her.

"Not as beautiful as you are."

"Smooth. And zank you." Fleur kissed her once again but this time Hermione deepened the kiss. By the time they pulled back they were both out of breath.

"Are you ready? I can wait if you aren't…" Hermione said after a while.

"Oui, I'm ready. And you are breathtaking, 'ermione." Fleur beamed seeing Hermione blush.

"Thanks… So are you." Fleur smiled. "Shall we? I suppose we could apparate there…"

"Just let me put zis in a vase." She quickly went to the kitchen and returned a moment later holding a vase with the rose and placed it on the coffee table, smiling. Hermione approached her and kissed her cheek.

* * *

After knocking on Fleur door, Bill sent Hermione his Patronus telling her to make sure to enter the room only after he said the death eater's name. She used the floo to listen to their conversation. And then flooed herself into the veela's living room, holding the rose she wanted to give her. Wordlessly she made the rose levitate, after taking in the other woman, she was absurdly beautiful. Hermione was over the moon, she actually thought Fleur would get mad at her for making Bill distract her. She wasn't. At least not at her. She was pretty sure Bill would regret helping. She could see the blonde's glee as she came back from the kitchen. After kissing her one more time, they nodded at each other and disapparated.

Appearing at the apparition spot at the village. Hermione wanted to hold Fleur's hand but didn't really know if she would be okay with it. They were in a hidden place and she took advantage of it, kissing the blonde deeply before dragging her to the street. She had planned the whole afternoon. When they reached the busiest part of the village, Hermione let go of the veelas hand. She was trying to read her reaction when she did that and saw a shade of sadness pass through her eyes which made her take the blonde's hand once again. Fleur looked at her.

"I didn't know if you'd want to hold hands in public yet…" Hermione explained her actions. Fleur nodded and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"Always zoughtful…" She said, beaming. "Where are we going now?"

"Honeydukes, it came to my knowledge that you like some candies most stores don't have…" Hermione answered, beaming. She really had to thank Bill a lot. Fleur grinned thinking about the candies she was only able to find there.

* * *

"'ermione! Zere ees no way I'll let you pay for all zis!" Fleur complained, annoyed that the lioness was preventing her from paying for the candies she had chosen. They had spent half an hour in the candy store and they had picked a lot of treats. Actually, they had filled two bags with candies and if her calculations were right, each had enough for about two months. "At least let me pay for yours!"

"No way!" Hermione grinned as she took the candy bag from her hands. "You paid for everything on our first date and said that's what French do. I might not be french but I asked you out. I'm paying for everything!"

"Stubborn," Fleur grumbled. Seriously, why did she have to choose such a stubborn woman?

"I'll pretend I didn't hear you grumble," Hermione said. She was having fun with all that scene. "Own, don't pout." She said, kissing her cheek. After the lioness paid and they were again walking in the main street, Fleur couldn't keep herself from grinning. "What do you want to do now?"

"I'm sure you 'ave a plan." Hermione nodded and they walked towards the bookstore she remembered going a few times five years before.

"I ordered a book by owl a few days ago, I just want to see if it's here already. And we could look around." Fleur simply nodded, she would refrain herself, knowing the lioness wouldn't let her buy anything today.

Soon they were both looking around. Fleur looked at Hermione, who had her back to her, seeing how deep in thought the girl was, she approached and hugged her in a way they both were facing the books. She was a little higher than the lioness so they actually fit perfectly that way, or anyway as Fleur liked to think. Moving her head a little, she kissed Hermione's cheek and then rested her chin on the lioness' shoulder making sure she wouldn't hurt her. They silently and in perfect harmony moved around the store. At the end of what seemed to both half an hour that was actually at least two hours, they were heading to the checkout. Hermione insisted on giving her two books she demonstrated interest and chose one for herself.

"We actually have some time to spare. We could either spend it on a cafe Luna told me about or go to Three Broomsticks. Almost no one goes to the cafe, according to Lun, and at this time almost everyone that came to the village is at the inn…" The lioness asked, right after they got out of the bookstore.

"Zee café eet ees. I don't really want to share your attention right now…" Fleur said, smiling at the girl.

"I hoped you would say that… It's this way." Hermione started walking, Fleur keeping her close by holding her waist They left the main street and headed to a small one on which she could hardly see a student. "Oh, right there! It's really lovely!" The lioness said as they entered the store, grinning. "Remember me to thank Lun, it's perfect!"

Looking around, Fleur smiled. It was a perfect place. It was really beautiful and happened to be quite empty if not completely, the only person she was able to see was apparently the owner who smiled at them when they entered. Hermione chose a seat closer to a lit fireplace, a couch resembling the one she had back on the castle which supposedly had enough space for them to sit comfortably side by side or for one of them to lean the head on the other lap. She sat and smiled as Hermione gave a quick kiss and went to talk to the owner, who seemed genuinely happy to see them. The lioness came back with two steamy mugs a few minutes after, grinning.

"Zank you, 'ermione!" She said taking the one offered to her, almost moaning when she took the first sip from it. French coffee. "C'est délicieux!" She exclaimed loudly, making the brunette snicker and the owner smile and say: "Merci!"

"Lun apparently found the perfect place indeed." Hermione smiled.

A few minutes later the owner approached them carrying a tray with two croissants.

"I hope you are having a good time. Here are your croissants." She left the plates on a table in front of them. "If you want, feel free to choose a book from the shelves and read. They are here for you to read."

When she left, Fleur looked at Hermione, who was obviously excited to be able to borrow a book and smiled fondly. The lioness stood and walked towards the shelves the woman had shown them. She looked at Fleur almost sadly. "They are all in French…" Smiling, she got up and decided to see what they had. She laughed as soon as she finished reading the titles.

"I zink you will 'ave no problem understanding zis one wizout a translating spell…" Fleur said softly as she picked one of the books and gave it to Hermione.

"Why?" The brunette inquired without looking to the book, but Fleur remained silent simply smiling. Seeing that Fleur wouldn't answer her, she decided to examine its cover and gasped. "Shakespeare…"

"Better. 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'." Fleur said, smiling as she saw the confusion on the brunette's face be replaced with enthusiasm.

"Could you read it to me? I never really heard you say anything in French besides a few words you say randomly…" Hermione's smile and request basically transformed Fleur into a veela pudding.

"Bien sûr!" The blonde said softly, taking the book and seating once again on the couch. Hermione followed her, but instead of seating, she lay down and used Fleur's thighs as cushions. The blonde paused.

"What? I'll not sleep! I swear!"

"Very well, but just to be sure, what time will your next plan begin?" She asked with a raised brow, quite sure that the lioness would sleep in no time.

After looking at the clock, Hermione looked back to her. "We should leave in about an hour and a half." Fleur nodded and, before the brunette could lay back down, kissed her. After making sure they were both comfortable, Fleur began reading the book.

Staying true to her promise, Hermione didn't sleep. Although Fleur had seen her close her eyes several times, only to open them again, after the French nudged her, saying she was not asleep. The time came and they left after Hermione paid everything.

"I might buy this book." She stated.

"I 'ave eet. Well, maman 'as eet but I'm sure she will be pleased to let you keep eet." Fleur smiled. As soon as they left the cafe, Fleur resumed holding the lioness by the waist, this time Hermione leaned on her and held Fleur's hand in hers. They walked through a few more alleys only stopping in front of a small house. It appeared to be a house, actually. There was a small sign where Fleur could read: Angelique's. How she didn't now about its existence in the village she didn't know, but it was obviously French. Hermione beamed seeing the blonde's reaction and kissed her cheek.

"I figured you were missing France, so I decided to do a small research and happen to find this place. Professor McGonagall has been here, she says the food is fantastic."

Fleur couldn't resist the urge to kiss the lioness deeply. They pulled back panting. "Merci, 'ermione…" was what Fleur managed to say.

As they entered the blonde noticed the restaurant was really small and had only about three tables for two. She felt herself falling even more for the brunette. If that was even possible. Again, Hermione chose where to seat. It was a secluded area but really cozy. In a few moments, they ordered and in less than half an hour later they began eating.

After having dinner, they ordered a crêpe Suzette to share and about half an hour later they were walking on the village's streets again.

"Fleur…" Hermione began, sounding anxious. "I've been meaning to ask you something." She said quietly as they stopped walking and Fleur looked at her.

"Oui?"

"I… Uhm… I've been wondering if… if you… if you'd like to be my girlfriend…" Hermione asked shyly but looking straight into her eyes.

The blonde was dumbfounded for a while until she noticed Hermione start fidgeting uncomfortably. She, then, noticed she didn't react nor answered the lioness. They were very close to each other so Fleur reached for her, holding the brunette against her and before she could say answer, she kissed her sweetly.

"I guess that's a yes?" Hermione asked as soon as they pulled away, beaming.

"Oui. Of course." Fleur said, grinning. She then placed kisses all over the brunette's face.

"Good…" the lioness sighed contently. "I should walk you home… Well, apparate with you there at least." When the blonde started to argue, "I will do it. It's the least I could do for my girlfriend."

The way Hermione said it almost made Fleur swoon and she relented.

* * *

Hearing Fleur speaking French was almost a heavenly experience. The way her voice flowed was unique. Hermione smiled the whole time the blonde was reading for her. She had been nervous since the moment she flooed to Fleur's, not sure the veela would like all the surprises she had decided to make. It was all going fine. They even had time to spend some time at the French cafe Luna mentioned, getting Fleur to read the book in French was a bonus. Really, heavenly.

Her nervousness was building in, each minute that passed, she got alarmingly more nervous. When they left the cafe, she had to breathe deeply to refrain herself from shaking visibly. The smile and tears she saw on Fleur's face when she saw where they would have dinner, made her day. The whole dinner she was nervous, but apparently, she managed to hide it from the blonde. As they left, each step made her even more anxious. Harry and Ginny tried to make her calm down before she left that morning by saying they were mates, obviously she would say yes.

Hermione resolved to say what she was so nervous to say. There was nothing she could do if the blonde said no. Taking a deep breath, "Fleur…" She began, obviously anxious. "I've been meaning to ask you something."

"Oui?"

She looked directly into Fleur's eyes, "I… Uhm…" Merlin, she was so nervous she was incapable of formulating a proper phrase. "I've been wondering if… if you…" Gods! Get a grip of yourself, Hermione Granger! "If you'd like to be my girlfriend…"

What seemed to be three hours later but really probably only three minutes, Fleur was yet to answer her. The blonde reached for her and kissed her. She instantly relaxed.

"I guess that's a yes?" She asked as soon as they pulled away, beaming.

"Oui. Of course." Fleur said, grinning. The blonde then placed kisses all over her face.

"Good…" The lioness sighed contently. "I should walk you home… Well, apparate with you there at least." When the blonde started to argue, "I will do it. It's the least I could do for my girlfriend."

Hermione noticed Fleur grin as soon as she said girlfriend and she smiled. They apparated to Fleur's apartment in no time. As soon as they got there, the veela hugged her for a while.

"'ey… Want some wine? I would love to celebrate…" She murmured.

"Sure…That would be lovely." Hermione smiled. Fleur kissed her and went to the kitchen. The lioness sat on her favorite place while the blonde was away. She came back a couple of minutes later and gave her the wine. They drank it silently, enjoying each other presence. They both put down the nearly empty glasses and looked at each other. Hermione was so happy, she wanted to cover the blonde with kisses. Leaning in, she kissed her sweetly.

In no time the blonde deepened the kiss. They got so engrossed by each other that a few moments later Hermione noticed she was straddling Fleur. Panting, they pulled away and the lioness was greeted by two bright orange eyes. The veela was holding her by the hips and quickly resumed kissing her. She tilted her head a little and the blonde used this small movement to part from her lips and give attention to her neck, earning a moan from the lioness. Taking it as an encouragement, the veela continued to distribute kissed on her neck. Not being able to control herself anymore, Hermione took Fleur's lips on hers. A while later she returned the favor, kissing her neck eliciting a moan, she smiled against her skin. Fleur quickly captured her lips once again but didn't take long to pull away, making the lioness whine. The veela chuckled. Once again, she opened her eyes and saw the veela's orange orbs. Gosh, those eyes! She pressed her forehead against hers and sighed.

"Hello, beautiful eyes…" She said, smiling.

"'ello beautiful…"

"I guess I should go…" Fleur pouted but nodded nonetheless.

"Or I won't be able to let you move anywhere…" Fleur added, smiling devilishly.

"I wouldn't want to…" Hermione laughed. "I actually don't want to. You lap is too comfortable."

"Zen don't," Fleur smirked.

"Fleur…"

"I'd love to but not what I meant." The French interrupted Hermione before she could say anything else, blushing deeply. "You can stay 'ere as much as you like and go to school zen or 'ome or even sleep 'ere. I'd sleep in zee couch, obviously."

"Uhm, I see…" The lioness locked eyes with the veela and kissed her, deeply. When she pulled back, she grinned hearing Fleur's whining. "I'd love to but I really must go." She got up from the blonde's lap. "Now, get your Gryffindor girlfriend to the fireplace and kiss her goodbye," Hermione said, playfully.

"Oh, and eef I don't do as she says?"

"You will go to sleep without a goodnight kiss and make her do so too."

"When you put eet zat way…" The speed with which she got up was basically inhuman, obviously. Hermione laughed at that as she felt Fleur's arms around her. "I can't let my girlfriend go to bed wizout a kiss." With that said, she began to kiss every inch of the lioness' face only stopping when her lips met the brunette's. "Goodnight, mon amour." Her eyes went wide as soon as she realized what she had just said.

"Goodnight, babe!" The lioness smiled widely and kissed her one more time before grabbing a handful of floo powder and entering the fireplace.

The living room she shared with Harry and Ginny appeared in front of her in a second. And with that her three friends waiting for her, awake. To be fair, only the redhead was really awake, the other two were dozing off. It was rather uncommon for Luna to stay there this late, Hermione thought.

"You are finally here!" Ginny exclaimed as soon as the brunette stepped outside the fireplace. "I saw you two leaving the village quite early."

"Really? You were stalking us?"

"Well, no. I was bored and Harry was finishing an essay he had left so I went to the village for a butterbeer with Lun. We saw you leaving as we were coming back." At that point, Luna woke up and heard the story.

"She was curious about how your date was going, actually. Not bored. And I only went because Harry was indeed finishing his homework and it's not a good idea to leave Weasleys alone for more than a few minutes." Trusting Luna's version of the story much more than Ginny's, Hermione raised a brow at the ginger who had the prudence of looking apologetic.

"Now that it's out there… How did it go?" She said, smiling. Ginny woke Harry up as Hermione sat in front of them to answer the question.

After Hermione said everything, she beamed at them. Obviously, she had left the part of heavily making out with the blonde out of the story.

"I told you she would say yes!" Luna smiled, as the other two nodded. "I'm glad you are officially dating!" The girl seemed to be absurdly tired. "Now, if you excuse me, I'll head to Ravenclaw…"

"Hey, you can sleep here..." Hermione said, smiling.

"Yeah, you could have trouble with Filch walking around this late..." Harry added.

"And we don't want you to leave…" Ginny smiled at her friend.

"Ok…" Luna beamed.

Hermione looked at the clock as she yawned. "It's really late. We should go to bed."

Harry and Ginny insisted that Luna slept on Harry's bed so they went to Ginny's. Hermione went upstairs as soon as they left, giving the blonde good night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> NOW they are girlfriends... So, what did you think?
> 
> Hope you liked! Thanks for reading!
> 
> Please comment and leave kudos!
> 
> PS: I'M SAD NO ONE COMMENTED LAST CHAPTER! =(
> 
> PPS: If you feel like sending me requests suggestions or prompts, feel free to reach me by PM or email me: celticdaughterfics (gmail)
> 
> PPPS: I'M WRITING An ONESHOT(at least trying to as I'm apparently incapable of writing a short story...) OF GINMIONE. Let me know if you are interested...


	25. Chapter 24

The majority of their Sunday was spent outside, by the lake. It was a beautiful day and none of them wanted to waste it so they all agreed to have some fresh air. After dinner, they headed back to the living room. Where Hermione passed time reading and the other three chatting in a lower voice so they wouldn't annoy her. Half an hour later, the painting of Joan of Ark appeared on the picture of her they had inside to inform them that Moire was looking for them. Hermione immediately worried and said she could come in. They greeted her and the brunette almost immediately asked how she was.

"I'm okay. I just wanted your help with something." Hermione nodded motioning her to continue. "I'm studying some spells ahead of the class, but I'm stuck with this one and can't really tell what I'm doing wrong…"

"Oh, she's just like you, 'Mione!" Harry exclaimed, making the girl look at him confused. "Hermione was always ahead of everyone."

"That's probably why she managed to keep him and my brother alive for so long..." Ginny added, Moire smiled at the new information she had just gathered.

"What is the spell, Moire?" Hermione asked, motioning her to a seat by the table.

"Wingardium Leviosa…" Ginny, Luna and Harry laughed, making Hermione glare at them and the younger girl to once again look confused.

"I know that story!" Luna said excited and receiving a questioning look from the eleven-year-old. "In their first year, I mean Harry's and 'Mione's. When Professor Flitwick taught this spell, no one was managing to perform it correctly and Hermione was sat by Ron that day. Apparently, he was doing every thing wrong, from the movement to the pronouncing and Hermione corrected him, saying: 'It's leviOsa, not levioSAA', he dismissed her and challenged her to perform it if she knew it. Hermione obviously cast it perfectly. He and Harry still joke around how she corrected her…"

The girl was in awe but looked at the brunette to confirm the story. Hermione smiled at her and nodded. Then they focused back on the spell. It was then that Fleur flooed there, surprising them. Hermione was really glad to see the Veela.

"Bonsoir everyone!" The blonde said, smiling.

"Hey, Fleur!" Harry greeted her, followed by his girlfriend and Luna while Hermione patiently waited and Moire simply stared at her.

"'ello, 'ermione!" Fleur said as soon as she reached her, hugging her and giving her a kiss on her cheek. "I'm not sure I know you…" She said looking at Moire, who smiled at her.

"I'm Moire!"

"She's the girl that talked to me the day we randomly met…" Hermione provided.

"Oh, I see. 'ello, I'm Fleur."

"I know!" The girl squealed, making everyone chuckle.

"Moire is studying ahead of her class and asked for help with a spell." The brunette said, smiling.

"Which one?"

"Wingardium Leviosa." Ginny answered. Fleur chuckled, earning a glare from Hermione.

"Yeah, eet's no fun being zee receiving end of zis glare." She said to Ginny, making her laugh as well as Harry and Luna. Fleur quickly placed a kiss on the lioness cheek and murmured "Sorry, mon amour" She then turned to the younger girl and smiled "You couldn't 'ave a better teacher."

Hermione made sure that Moire was once again focused on what she was teaching her as the French woman joined the other's conversation. "Now, let's see if you got it.", said the brunette placing a quill in front of the girl. After three tries, the first year managed to perform it correctly, earning applauses from everyone in the room. She, then, thanked everyone and gave the good night as Hermione told her to got to bed.

"Hey, babe!" The brunette said as she sat by the veela's side snuggling against her.

"'ello, mon ange…" Hermione couldn't help but feel her heart flutter at the nickname. "I'm sorry I came without a warning. I just wanted to see you." She added, making the other three 'awn' them.

"No problem. I was thinking about you…"

"Hey, heart eyes! We are here too!" Ginny joked, laughing.

Hermione ignored her and kissed Fleur. "Missed you."

"Oh, Merlin! They just began dating and are already like that!" The redhead exclaimed. When she was about to say something more Hermione glared at her, making her shut up.

"Me too…" Fleur answered the lioness, ignoring Ginny. "And I wanted to wish you a good week seeing we 'ardly will see each ozer…" Hermione nodded.

They all chatted a little but as it was late, Luna went back to her room and Ginny and Harry to Harry's. Soon, both girls were yawning and Fleur decided to leave, wishing once again a good week to Hermione and kissing her good night. Hermione went to sleep smiling, the blonde's visit was obviously unexpected but made her a lot happier.

The week passed quickly, they were all anxious about the DA meeting. Hermione and Fleur decided they could cancel the work meeting they would have because they were all already distressed about the DA and the reports Harry, Luna and Hermione had to write would only make it worse. They had to wait for this reports to continue their work. Her two friends thanked her and Ron, Fleur for delaying it. The two girlfriends exchanged letters or flooed each other every day but both missed each other madly. Thursday was Hermione's worst day and that could be attested by anyone who go close to her. She was really grumpy by the end of the day. Her mood got a little better when a certain veela flooed her to say good night. Friday she was still in a bad mood but it was better than the day before, after all, she would see Fleur.

"So, what are you planning to do today since you won't work?" Luna asked during lunch, the lioness' mood was getting better by the minute.

"Uhm, I don't know. I guess we could all go to Three Broomsticks. We are just spending some time together."

"That would be awesome!" Ginny said and Harry agreed.

"Great! So we will have dinner there?" the three nodded. "I'll let Fleur know."

History of magic class passed in a blink and soon they were all heading to the Gryffindor tower to meet Fleur. Hermione entered the room, dropped her bag loudly on the ground and grunted something about changing the others followed her lead. Luna had carried a change of clothes with her. In no time they were all back in the living room and Fleur arrived as soon as the least of them reached it. She stormed to Hermione and kissed her. They only pulled away when they heard Harry cleared his throat.

Ginny nudged him. "Leave them. Maybe it will leave 'Mione in a better mood!" She whispered at him. Well, it wasn't really a whisper because everyone heard her.

* * *

Fleur hugged Hermione and smiled. "Grumpy much?"

"I missed you. I guess I got in a bad mood. They started complaining yesterday." Hermione murmured as the blonde chuckled.

"I was in a bad mood too. Ask Bill. 'e started complaining by Tuesday." She whispered after kissing her again. "And I missed you too."

Unwilling to let her lioness go, she continued holding her as she greeted their friends. They soon went to the village, after sending the headmistress a message letting her know where they were headed to. They had fun, Hermione never left her side. She had developed quite a taste for wine so that's what they had, all of them. At the end of the night, none of them was drunk but they had drunk a lot. Going back to the castle, Hermione leaned on Fleur, sighting. As soon as they got to the living room, Luna decided to stay exactly where she was so she transfigured one of the couches into a bed and simply slept. Harry and Ginny went to their bedroom quite sleepy too. Before Fleur could say anything, Hermione kissed her.

"I really don't want you to leave." She said, after pulling back.

"I guess I could follow Lun's example and transfigure…" She paused mid-sentence as she saw Hermione shake her head.

"If you stay, you can sleep with me." Hermione's face went red as soon as she realized what she had said. "I meant sleep literally. Not that I don't want to… It's just that it's a huge step…" She deadpanned, making Fleur chuckle.

"I know what you meant, mon amour." She said, looking the lioness in the eyes. "Are you sure? I really don't want to force you into doing nozing…"

"Yes. I missed you too much and want to cuddle." Hermione said, hugging her.

"I'll stay zen. You are conscious we will 'ave to endure Ginny tomorrow when she notices I slept 'ere, right?"

"Yeah. But I'm quite sure it will be worth it."

They went upstairs holding hands, Hermione lent Fleur one of her pyjamas, Fleur got into bed first and opened her arms so the lioness could snuggle against her. They slept quickly, something unknown to them for a long time.

Fleur woke up in Hermione's arms and sighed if she had to wake up like that every day she wouldn't complain. Well, that was obvious. She carefully snuggled closer to Hermione not wanting to wake her up. The lioness began to stir so the blonde turned around to face her. "Bonjour, beautiful!" She smiled as soon as the brunette opened her eyes.

"Hi, gorgeous!" Hermione said sleepily and held Fleur closer burying her face in her neck which made the blonde chuckle. "You're warm. Can't we stay like this?" Her voice was muffled by the proximity of her mouth to Fleur's skin. Her breath hitched when she felt the lioness kiss her neck, making Hermione chuckle. They dozed off again only to be woken up in less than an hour by a squeal coming from downstairs. Curious, they got up and went there to find Ginny looking rather happy. Their table was set for breakfast.

"Oh! That's why!" Ginny said as soon as she saw them.

Luna smiled at them. "I saw that Fleur's jacket was still here so I assumed you had slept here. And asked Dobby to bring food for us…" They nodded and braced themselves for Ginny's teasing.

"Food comes first! I'll tease you later!" The ginger said, taking a seat and not waiting for them to start serving herself. Harry sat by her side, Fleur and Hermione, in front of them and Luna at the head of the table.

They talked and the redhead happily complied her promise of teasing them. When Harry managed to make Ginny stop, they were both flustered. It was late so they went back to their rooms to get ready for the day as they were all in their pyjamas. Taking the clothes she used the night before, Fleur took a shower and changed while Hermione occupied herself trying to find clothes for herself.

"Babe, do you want to borrow something?"

"Eet might be a good idea…"

"I think this will fit you well." Hermione passed her a black plain tank top. "Do you need anything else?"

"Non, I'm good." She said as she got out of the bathroom, holding her dirty shirt. "I might need a kiss, zough." She added, smirking.

The request was happily complied. "You look great in my clothes…" Hermione said as she pulled away and entered the bathroom to change.

Fleur sat by the bed they had shared and begun to make it. Hermione came back a while after she finished doing it. The brunette was wearing jeans and her school bottom-up with the sleeves rolled up. They then went downstairs to wait for the others. When they were all gathered, they went to the Room of Requirement to make sure they would indeed have enough room for everyone. They had lunch there and waited for everyone to get there. The students got there in groups, most were in awe as they entered it. The room of requirement was unknown for most students and those who knew it didn't understand how it worked. Fleur herself was impressed with its capability. When they had walked in front of it, Harry asked for a room where everyone could practice Defence Against Dark Arts. Walking in, they were all fascinated by how big the room was and came to the conclusion that actually everyone would be able to simultaneously perform magic. Their group sat together, near what looked like a teacher's desk. After Hermione nodded to Harry, they stood. Everyone who had signed the parchment was there, standing and looking at them expectantly.

"Hi, guys!" Harry began after taking a deep breath. "I believe the first thing we should do is to introduce ourselves, so we" he motioned to their group, "will begin and then I'll ask each of you to come to the front, say your name, age, year and house and maybe something about why you want to be here. Ok… Well, my name is Harry, I'm 18 and obviously should be graduated but, you know, I have been occupied with the war and didn't start the seventh year at the right time. I'm a Gryffindor and my favorite subject is Defense Against Dark Arts." Ginny came next, then Luna and then a very anxious Hermione. As she finished talking, she gave space to Fleur and smiled at her.

"'ello! I'm Fleur, I'm 21 and, as most of you must 'ave noticed, I'm french so I'm from Beauxbatons. Some of you may remember me as my school's champion at zee last Triwizard tournament. And now you might be asking yourselves what I'm doing 'ere," she saw most of them nodding, "Zee 'eadmistress asked me to assist zose four. Not zat zey really need eet. But eet ees on zee statute zat zese kind of clubs must receive assistance from a graduate, not necessarily a teacher. And 'ere I am. I'm currently one of zee heads of zee Ministry's Auror Office, along with Bill Weasley." Fleur smiled and gave space for the students, who one by one walked to the front end introduced themselves.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Hope you liked this chapter! Next one, the rest of the DA meeting! (I guess the name of the fic was suggested because the kind of have lots of meetings, My best friend chose the name...)
> 
> Please comment and leave kudos!
> 
> I finished writing my GinMione one-shot (if we can call that a one shot, it has 10,000 words...) I might post it soon!
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> PS: If you feel like sending me requests suggestions or prompts, feel free to reach me by PM or email me: celticdaughterfics (gmail)
> 
> ;3


	26. Chapter 25

After everyone introduced themselves, Hermione takes a step forward and with one gesture from her (raising her hand) everyone goes silent. She is pretty much happy with it, not that anyone except her friends could notice that. The five of them were in line in front of everyone in stances that could be read as a soldier like. They all were standing and had their hands folded on their backs, their faces quite serious.

"Well, we were trying to figure out what you expect from this gathering. But we realized it might be a better idea to let you tell us that." She began, "from what I gathered, you want more practical experience either for fun and for academic reasons." she paused, hearing most agree with her.

"Zee zing ees: Defense Against Dark Arts eyes not about fun." Fleur chimed in, smiling as she saw Harry release a breath. "We are not going to tell zose who are very for fun to drop the club." everyone started whispering at once, making Fleur rise her hand just like her girlfriend had done, everyone went silent almost agreeing that the blonde was scary. She might have used a bit of her thrall, Hermione noticed as many of them had glassy eyes.

"We just want to warn all of you that this club is to be taken seriously. If you don't, you might get hurt. Do you understand?" Harry says, very seriously. "do you have any questions?"

One girl raises her hand before anyone could think, Hermione feels like she already likes her. Ginny motions for her to talk. "Is it true that all of you are able to perform corporeal Patronus?" They all exchange a look to confirm everyone agrees with what they are about to do and, as one, they perform the spell. Earning gasps from most of the students in the room. They let the silver animals go around the room for a bit and then make them fade.

As soon as they fade, a boy raises the hand. Luna lets him talk. "My brother was here at the battle, he said all of you fought together," they nod, "I was wondering if it would be possible to see you fight. A duel, I mean. It's just that I've never seen anyone do that..." The boy trails off, Hermione recognized him as one of the two second years. All other students murmured excitedly to see it happen. The question is answered after they have a silent conversation. Apparently, they were so used to being together that the quintet could read each other's expressions.

The veela approached Hermione, smiling, "I believe we could call someone for support." she whispered in her ear, the veela's breath making the lioness shiver. "I can get Ronald or Bill 'ere so we 'ave an even number." Hermione nodded. Fleur goes through the other three to make sure they agree and conjures her Patronus once again to send a message to Bill, who was currently on the field with the trainees. Hermione conjured hers to let the headmistress they were expecting another person inside the castle barriers, explaining the situation. The same girl who had asked about their Patronus raised her hand as soon as the silver animals were on their way. The brunette smiled, figuring out what she was eager to ask but letting the girl express herself nonetheless.

"You used your patronuses as messengers." It wasn't a question, Hermione noticed but nodded. "I've read about it but never thought it was really possible, given only a few people are able to conjure corporeal patronuses." The lioness nodded once again.

Luna beamed at the girl and started explaining to everyone: "Using corporeal patronuses as messengers can be even rarer than simply conjuring them. Only a few people care to research about them and how they could be useful and those who do usually don't go to the point of really accomplishing it." At that moment a Patronus came into sight approaching Fleur and less than a second later another approached Hermione. "Most can't really see why. The Order of the Phoenix found use in it after Dumbledore died and the war began to worsen. Most of its members were deeply trained, those who weren't were trained. In about a month, every member of the Order was capable of using the Patronus as a messenger. The DA members in school were soon able to do so too with the help of professor McGonagall."

As on cue, the doors opened and the Headmistress entered the room, smiling at them and practically ignoring the rest of the students.

"As much as I'd like to take credit for what you are talking, I might say you were all brilliant so it was quite an easy job to make sure you were capable of doing so, Miss Lovegood." She said, making Luna and Ginny blush a little. The professor sat on the chair that appeared by the side of the desk as soon as she entered the room. "By all meanings, I should explain why I'm here. And no, I'm not going to be present at every meeting, just this one," she said, looking at the rest of the students. "I'm here to be the judge of the duels." Everyone was shocked, apart from the five professors standing in front of them, Hermione had quickly passed the message after the Headmistress' Patronus came to inform that to her.

They were still quite dumbfounded when the doors opened again, a moment later, revealing a redhead wearing jeans and a white button-up shirt very similar to Harry's (they were all using the uniform shirts except for the veela). "I see you haven't begun. Bill told me to rush but when I went home to change mom made me wait so I could bring you some things. They're in your living room." The redhead smiled at his friends whom he hadn't seen for a long time. After hugging everyone (including Fleur, to her obvious surprise), he nodded to the professor and turned his attention to everyone else. "I assume I should introduce myself. I'm Ron, Ronald Weasley. I'm a trainee in the Ministry's Auror Division and a friend of them." He automatically took the same stance his friends were, standing between Ginny and Luna, who had to move to her side, awkwardly.

"Since you arrived, Mr. Weasley, I assume we should begin. You know the rules, so no dirty plays." McGonagall said. "I'd like to suggest a certain pairing and order because I believe it would be more challenging." She waited for the six to nod. "Miss Lovegood and Mr. Weasley can go first. Miss Weasley and Mr. Potter go after them and then Miss Granger and Miss Delacour. Everyone agrees?" They nodded, Hermione had a small smile on her lips. That would be the first time that she dueled with the blonde. The headmistress then transfigured the long carpet they were standing on into a duel stage, it was basically a long large table with a small stair on either side.

They were all on top of it since the professor didn't tell them to step away. The two couples stepped out of the stage, leaving Ron and Luna standing there. The dual got to their places, bowed and begun dueling. An hour later, they were sweaty and tired. Ron attempted to disarm Luna, something she easily blocked and then counterattacked, stunning the boy with a quick silent spell. That was the only silent spell used in that duel, much to Ron's anguish.

Before heading up to the stage, as the professor called them, Ginny whispered something in Harry's ear which made his face get red. Hermione watched the exchange curiously and felt Fleur snicker by her side. She looked at her curiously, before remembering she had a better hearing than her so she must have heard what Ginny said. Raising a brow as a silent question and squeezed her hand slightly. Fleur looked at her, smiling. She loved that smile, that smile always transformed her into a goo pudding.

"Ginny made a bet with 'im. You don't want to know what, just make sure to soundproof zeir room tonight, no matter who wins." She smiled at Hermione's horrified face and kissed her cheek. Hermione was able to see some of the closest students watching them from the corner of her eyes. When her attention went back to the stage, they were preparing themselves to bow.

"You are so going down," Ginny said, smirking to a very flustered Harry. Hermione forced herself not to laugh at Ginny's choice of words, Fleur also chuckled by her side.

They bowed. Hermione began to analyze their duel just like she had with the other two and she was quite sure Fleur was doing the same since she noticed she was quite concentrated too. Their style was clearly more intricate than Ron's or Luna's, but she was aware that Luna had gone soft on him as she didn't use wordless magic, knowing he was still unable to do so. Harry and Ginny mostly fought in silence, it was quite obvious they knew each other deeply. Harry always knew how Ginny would react to a certain spell and vice-versa. They watched the couple duel for about two hours, they were just now showing signs of tiredness. For two hours they kept their eyes trained in each other and ignored the rest of their room, they were both quite competitive. They were able to duck and block basically every spell the other launched at the other. It was mesmerizing to watch it was basically a dance, Hermione wondered if she and Fleur would be something close to it. In one move, Harry ducked from one significantly strong spell and sent one flying to Ginny, who tried to block and then to dive from it. The spell hit her and then she was dangling in the air by one leg, laughing. Hermione smiled, knowing that this particular spell used to be James Potter's signature one. Very much in an unlikely move to Ginny, she gave in. Laughing really hard after he broke the spell and floated her to the ground, she kissed him quickly not really wanting to make a scene.

"Why did she cede? Eet's unlike 'er…" Fleur looked at her curiously.

"That's his father's signature move. He used once in Lily and it obviously didn't go well." Fleur was clearly still curious. "Ginny must have remembered that specific scene. It was really hard not to laugh. After the Triwizard Tournament and Voldemort got back, Sirius apparently decided to keep his memories he had of Lily and James stored in case the worse happened. He wrote in his will where they were. After hearing about it, Lupin decided to do the same thing and has been sending him some of his memories too. Harry has been watching them every once in a while during the week, with me and the girls. It's quite fun to watch the Marauders in action." Fleur nodded.

"I zink eet ees our time, mon amour…" Hermione blushed at the nickname, not being used to it just yet. And they started walking towards the stage only to the lioness stop in her tracks making Fleur eyed her worriedly.

"Just to make it interesting and make sure you won't simply let me win," she whispered to Fleur whose face became red instantly remembering what Ginny had suggested to her boyfriend. "Not that, dirty mind." Hermione laughed a bit. "Whoever wins will pay the next three dates we go. No possible arguing from the other part." The lioness grins at her veela and sees her eyes flick between bright blue and orange. She had managed to get her attention. "Deal?" Fleur nodded, already concentrating. Her concentration felt flat as the brunette kissed her softly. Hermione heard some gasps and rolled her eyes as soon as she pulled away, but smiled to her girlfriend. Fleur strode to the other side of the stage determined to win, just as much as Hermione was. They locked eyes and, before they got into duel stance, smiled at each other.

* * *

They bowed. Both extremely confident that they would win. Locking eyes, they waited. Apparently, both had the same strategy, patience. The room was clearly tense as the students were aware that they were obviously pretty good and scary. Harry was smiling, aware that both girls were curious about each other's fight mode, not having fought against each other. They both moved at the same time, casting silent spells and simultaneously dodging the spell the other cast. Harry knew it was going to be a silent duel, the only sounds heard were the audience's reactions. Hermione and Fleur were experts in nonverbal magic and were making a show out of it. They made it seem easy, both smiling at each other as if they were entranced. And they were. The challenge that Hermione proposed was clear in their heads, both wanted to win because of their pride too. Ginny nudged Harry, making him stop his analysis on them.

"What do you think Hermione said to Fleur to make her blush before they got there?" She asked him silently.

Shrugging, he smiled. "I'm certain that it was not what you said to me, Gin. They might have made a bet too."

"I can see that happening…" Ginny said, smirking. "I wonder what they bet on… It can't really be sexual, obviously." Harry smiled, trying to ignore the discomfort caused by his imagination, and returned his attention to the duel. Ginny was obviously trying to figure out what could have made the French woman blush.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should simply stop trying to make a posting schedule for me as I deeply suck at it. I'm a bit lazy and, uh, I have to reread the chapter to make sure it's readable (at least I try to) then I end up procrastinating (SORRY) (hence the lack of frequency). Anyway, I'll stop making up excuses for my delay...
> 
> I hope you like it! Please comment and leave kudos!
> 
> Oh, next one will probably up soon as I don't want you waiting too much for our favorite couple's duel...
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> Oh, right, my other story is up. So go read it (I managed to keep it shortish) hope you like, please review it! 
> 
> ;3  
> luv yah!
> 
> PS: So, I'm reviewing the chapters because of gramatical errors, one of the readers is literally an angel and decided to help me... (shout out to jprsauve and his lovely disposition!)
> 
> PPS: If you feel like sending me requests suggestions or prompts, feel free to reach me by PM or email me: celticdaughterfics (gmail)


	27. Chapter 26

The two girls on stage would be circling each other if they had space, but the so called stage was a very long table, to be honest. Harry never really understood the reason behind that specific tradition, sure the dueling clubs were a great distraction and a way to improve but, really? over a long table? Harry stared at Hermione. He knew her and had trained with her for what felt like forever, therefore he knew exactly how the wise girl functioned. Hermione was analyzing the blonde, how she moved and trying to get a grip on a move that could give away her attacks. She had thrown a few spells towards her to understand how she would respond and waited for Fleur's attacks. Obviously, he was aware that this was how the best warriors should behave and, looking at the blonde, he guessed that was exactly what she was doing too. But he knew Hermione was aware of her give aways and looking at her, he noticed she was preventing herself from doing it. After a little while, both decided it was time to really get into the duel and as on cue they stepped closer to each other, just one step, and silently cast strong spells at each other. Having almost no time to repel it, both dived into the ground earning a collective gasp. Fleur was the first to stand, the stress apparently had already made her veela surface and sent another spell. Hermione managed to deflect it, making the bubble shield the headmistress had conjured around the stage absorb it. Harry saw the brunette raise a brow at her girlfriend.

"Really, babe?" She said, earning only a smirk from the blonde.

Ginny shuffled at Harry's side. "That was low…" She said in a small voice.

The man smiled at his girlfriend and shook his head. "She knew 'Mione would be able to deflect it." He said, giving the redhead a knowing smile. "Fleur wants to win, obviously but by now she is just making sure to show off 'Mione's full capacity. So is Hermione, in case you haven't noticed." Ginny nodded, now paying full attention to the battling women.

They quickly fell into a rhythm, almost an elegant dance. They were both in good form. Fleur mainly because of her job and Hermione because, well she wanted to. Harry knew the lioness enough to know that she was just making sure she would be prepared in case they ran into trouble again. About two hours later and after both of them got hit at the same time more than they would like to admit, Harry started to take notice that they were getting tired. Hermione sighed but kept going and so did Fleur. The rhythm fell a bit but only after half an hour one of them managed to win. Hermione had managed to dodge a particularly strong spell, barely falling from the stage, but got quickly on her feet. Fleur smiled at her as they stood still in front of each other. In half a second they were both on the floor again but this time they were both hit.

"Damn! They are good. It's been at least two and a half hours. Merlin!" Ginny said, shaking her head. Harry simply nodded.

They both squinted, in concentration. Hermione was the first to move this time. Harry saw the smile on Fleur face. She deflected the spell Hermione sent her and dodged the second one, sending a spell at the same time. Apparently, the brunette predicted it and easily deflected. What she wasn't waiting for was the second one. Fleur had cast it immediately after the first. Harry identified it as her signature move, from what he had learned from her files on the ministry. Getting hit by the second spell made Hermione fly backward and lose grip on her wand, which flew to the veela's waiting hand. Every one cheered. Harry heard Hermione groan and Fleur help her get up, smirking. After making sure the brunette was fine, she smiled broadly.

* * *

"Are you okay, dear?" Fleur approached her, it was obvious to Hermione that the older woman was trying to fight a triumphant smile. She wouldn't discuss the fact that the blonde was concerned but she was still quite proud of herself. The lioness considered making that hidden smile fade by faking a bruise. She groaned, who was she kidding? She loved that smile.

"Yes." She grunted and allowed the veela help her stand.

Fleur beamed at her making impossible for her to be mad about losing the duel. She fought the urge to roll her eyes. They thanked everyone and waited for the other to climb the stairs and join them. Hermione saw Harry look at the clock on the wall facing them, he looked at her silently questioning her.

"Harry wants to know if he can schedule the second meeting for next Saturday." She said to Fleur in a whisper, not needing to really ask him what he wanted. "It's late and we didn't manage to do what we wanted…"

Fleur nodded. "Eet won't be a training day…"

She looked at her friend and silently nodded, knowing he had already asked Luna and his girlfriend. He took a step forward and smiled. He thanked everyone and announced the next gathering. Hermione saw everyone go out of the room, flooding the corridors and smiled. She snaked a hand around Fleur so she was now holding the blonde next to her by the hip. The headmistress congratulated all of them but especially her and Fleur for the duels and said she would make sure their dinner would be served in their common room.

Arriving at the Gryffindor tower Ginny and Harry excused themselves to Ginny's room, promising they would be right back as they wanted to change and refresh themselves. Luna smiled and asked them if she could use Harry's bathroom, wanting to do the same. Ron sat on an armchair basically to wait for Luna to come down so he could change too. Hermione kissed Fleur's cheek and smiled, the silent question made as she squeezed the blonde's hand she was holding. Fleur nodded, smiling slightly. They followed the younger blonde upstairs hearing Ron grunt.

Fleur entered her room after her, having held the door for her. Before the blonde could properly close the door, she kind of pressed the veela against the door. That obviously took the woman by surprise and made the door slam closed. Hermione smiled, feeling the blonde's body so close to her's and kissed her deeply which elicited a moan from Fleur. Hearing it, the lioness held her head by the neck and let her fingers play with the blonde's hair, earning another moan and Fleur's arms around her, holding her even closer. She smiled against the veela's mouth. Her dominance on the kiss persisted a little more but Fleur flipped them and soon her back was pressed against the wall. She moaned as the blonde carefully bit her lower lip and lowered her hands to Fleur's hips to push her closer as she felt Fleur move one of hers to her hair. After a while, they pulled back, panting. Fleur didn't move away, simply joined their foreheads and smiled. Hermione mirrored her, looking into her orange orbs. She loved the way they shun just as much as she loved her blue eyes.

"Hi" She managed to say, still panting.

"'i" Fleur murmured.

"You really look good in my clothes," Hermione said, justifying her acts. The blonde chuckled. "better when you are fighting." She placed a firm kiss on the veela.

"You look beautiful when you are fighting too." Fleur stepped forward pressing Hermione against the wall once again, smiling. The lioness smiled as their noses touched, and quickly melting into Fleur's lips as soon as the veela kissed her deeply. She pulled back, making Hermione whine a little missing her lips on hers. "We should change…" The brunette interrupted her with a kiss. "Or Ginny will come 'ere and knock down zee door…" She completed after pulling back again.

"Ginny wouldn't dare. But, sadly, you are right." She made Fleur enter the bathroom first and started figuring out what they could wear. Cursing, she decided to ask Dobby to bring fresh clothes to Fleur. Obviously, she failed to ask him to bring a shirt. In a moment, he was back with what she asked. She picked some clothes for her and a shirt she was sure would fit the blonde and her style. "I asked Dobby to bring you some fresh clothes." She said, against the bathroom door.

"Merci!" After a while, Fleur stepped out of the bathroom wearing Hermione's bathrobe. She made a mental note to buy another as soon as she could. Maybe a blue one, not that the blonde didn't look good in red and gold. The lioness entered the other room carrying her clean clothes after lightly kissing the older woman.

* * *

Fleur dressed up and smiled as she noted the shirt wasn't hers. "I see you really like seeing me on your clothes…" She said as soon as she heard the brunette step back into the room.

"Well…" She interrupted the lioness with a quick kiss.

"I like wearing zem." She said, smiling and making Hermione beam. "Now, I believe eet's dinner time and zee Weasleys must be 'ungry" Hermione nodded and opened the door for her.

"Congratulations on your victory, by the way. That move is quite clever." Hermione said as they began descending the stairs. The lioness placed a light kiss on her clothed shoulder but didn't fail to make her shudder a little. She stopped and turned to the brunette before they got into the other's view.

"Merci." She kissed her lightly.

"We can hear you two!" Ginny shouted from the first floor, making them chuckle.

"Yeah, I can hear you every night, Gin!" Hermione shouted back, as Fleur turned back and continued her way to the common room. Ron groaned loudly. "Sorry, Ron!" She added, laughing.

They were greeted by a flustered Harry, an annoyed Ron and the two other women laughing loudly. Fleur gave a small smile to both men, knowing they heard quite more than they wanted to.

"Yeah yeah…" Ginny said as she calmed down.

"Speaking of hearing you two…" Hermione smirked. Fleur looked at her, knowing she wouldn't stop until she made her ginger friend blush a little. "Fleur heard your little bet." The brunette pointed Harry and Ginny. The man simply sat down and did his best not to let his face become a tomato and Ginny at first became mute and then her face became red after she looked at Fleur's knowing smile.

"What was it?" Luna promptly asked, obviously curious.

"It was nothing." Ginny managed to answer. She glared at Hermione daring her to say otherwise.

"I don't really know. Fleur didn't say." Hermione smiled at Luna.

"Oh…" Luna said, Fleur noticed her looking at both (Harry and Ginny) and making an understanding face "I see…" she added, with a smirk.

"Speaking of bets…" Ginny recovered quickly. "What was yours with Fleur?"

"Yeah, we saw her blush..." Harry added, smiling but still quite red.

"Zee blush was me remembering what Ginny said to you, 'arry. She basically started zee same way Ginny did." Harry blushed deeper if that was even possible.

"And the bet, it's just who would pay for the next three dates," Hermione said bluntly. She obviously didn't like losing but Fleur couldn't help but smile.

"Seriously?" Ginny seemed incredulous. But Harry laughed.

"It figures!" The black haired men said. "Shit! We will hear her complain for weeks!" That remark made everyone laugh, except for Ron, who was still quite disgruntled about his sister.

A moment later, the food appeared on the table along with plates for the six of them. Instead of drinking the juice the elves had sent, they drank the wine Hermione offered them. She now had three bottles, but she knew somehow two of them should be exclusive for her and Fleur. About three hours passed and Ron excused himself and left. The five left in the room continued chatting as none of them had plans for the next day. They had moved from the table to the couches about an hour after the dinner. Fleur had sat on a couch with Hermione and now the younger woman was laying down with her head on Fleur's lap. Her best friend was in the exact same position except her legs were on Luna's lap. The younger blonde was happily chatting with them. They were all a little drunk and at some point Ginny and Harry excused themselves.

"I should go too," Fleur whispered to Hermione after Luna simply transfigured the couch she was seated in a bed. The brunette whined a little, making Fleur melt.

"Or you could sleep here again…" The lioness said, with pleading eyes.

Fleur obviously hadn't really wanted to leave so she ceded. "Let's go zen…"

"Good night you two… See you tomorrow." Luna smiled at them before disappearing inside the guest restroom to change into her pajamas. Fleur wondered why she had these clothes there.

"She has been sleeping here sometimes so she figured she could keep some of her things here." Hermione provided, apparently reading her curiosity quite well. Fleur nodded.

After entering Hermione's room, the lioness mumbled something about a sober-up potion and opened a drawer taking two flasks from there, giving one to Fleur. None of them was really drunk but the potion would keep them from headaches. After drinking it, Fleur found the pajamas the brunette had lent to her in the same spot she had left them, neatly folded. She waited for the girl to leave the bathroom and entered to change and prepare herself to sleep. As she got back into the room, she saw a sleepy Hermione sitting on the bed.

"Hey…" The younger woman said, smiling.

"'ey…" Fleur always turned into pudding when she saw the lioness smile and often lost her words. Hermione got up slowly and walked towards her, the smile never fading. She folded her arms around her as she got closer and placed her hands over the blonde's neck. They stayed that way, simply staring at each other's eyes, smiling. Then Fleur bent down and kissed Hermione. Right after she pulled away Hermione yawned and they chuckled because Fleur couldn't help but yawn too.

"Sleep." The brunette mumbled, burying her face in Fleur's neck.

"Oui." Without a warning, she lifted Hermione from the ground, which elicited a frightened gasp from her, and carried the younger woman to the bed they would share. She made her lay down and smiled at her, proud of herself.

* * *

"Yeah, you are pretty strong," Hermione said without opening her eyes as if she was reading her mind. "Now, lay down. I want to cuddle." The lioness opened one eye and looked to Fleur as the blonde didn't move. She saw a pouting veela standing near the bed and chuckled. "My hero!" She smiled and reached for Fleur's hand. "Cuddle!" She whined when she saw that the French didn't move. Kneeling on the bed, she hugged the blonde and dragged her into the bed. They landed with a grunt on the bed, Hermione over Fleur. The brunette was chuckling a little when the blonde kissed her deeply, locking her over her. They moved around the bed after pulling back and fell asleep holding each other.

Hermione woke up in the same position she had slept, holding her girlfriend. But Fleur had turned in her arms and was now facing the room instead of her. She smiled and snuggled closer to her, being careful not to wake her up. She sank her head into the blonde's hair and lightly kissed her neck. Fleur mumbled something she failed to understand and curled up against her. They drifted again, both too sleepy to really wake up. After a while, she stirred a little but didn't really want to open her eyes. She smiled, sensing Fleur's body against hers and hummed as she breathed in the scent of the blonde's hair. Hermione couldn't help and began to place small kisses on her neck and shoulders. The veela started to stir and she felt her sigh.

"Good morning, babe…" She whispered against Fleur's neck. The blonde turned in her arms to look at her.

"Bonjour, mon chér…" Fleur said, sleepily. Hermione kissed her nose and smiled at her. She moved closer to Hermione and buried her face in her mane. "Sleep." She smiled, remembering she said the same word the night before. They both chuckled when Fleur's laziness was interrupted by her stomach, growling.

"I guess you are hungry…" Hermione smiled. "Get up." She said, after kissing her lips.

Fleur groaned but got up anyway and held a hand to help Hermione up. She went to the bathroom and Hermione after her and then they went downstairs. They found Harry sitting in his favorite armchair in his pajamas, a cup of coffee in his hands.

"Morning…" He whispered. Only then they took notice of a sleeping Luna. He looked at her worriedly. "We should have gone to Ginny's and left mine for her to sleep…"

"There was no need, Harry." Luna turned on her bed so she could face them. "I slept just fine here." She smiled at him as he nodded.

"Oh, Dobby brought hot drinks…" Harry waved to the table.

Hermione looked into the mugs and realized each one had a different steamy liquid. She hummed as she took notice of their smells. Taking two specific mugs, she offered one to Fleur and took a sip of hers, sighing happily. She then forced her mind to remember which of the left ones should be Luna's.

"It's the Chai," Harry said, smiling at her. "the Irish is Ginny's." Hermione took the mug containing Luna's drink and looked at her friend with a raised brow. He shrugged and smiled at her.

"Morning," Ginny grunted as she stepped into the room. She smiled as Harry pointed her the last mug. "Merlin, Dobby knows everything!" She beamed as she tried the drink. She smiled at Luna and then noticed the girl had actually slept in the common room. "Merlin, we should have gone to my room, babe…" She said to Harry, who simply nodded.

"Nonsense." Luna waved at Ginny. "I slept just fine, as I have already told Harry."

Hermione made a mental note to start observing how the three of them behaved with each other. She knew they would like to make sure any friend of theirs was comfortable in their house but everyone knew that these transfigured beds were basically the same as the ones they had upstairs. Harry looked overly worried, just like Ginny. The brunette cocked her head at their exchange.

* * *

Fleur saw the slightly confused look on the lioness face and smiled. She was completely adorable! Taking advantage of her cocked head, she approached the brunette and kissed her neck, chuckling at the woman's reaction.

"Hey… What do you want to do today?" The lioness asked giving her full attention, apparently dismissing any thoughts she had before.

"Whatever you want, 'ermione…" They sat on the nearest couch.

"I don't really know, but I guess we could simply stay and talk…" She nodded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: Hey! Sorry I really had no time to update this Saturday. Deeply sorry. Yes, I know I suck. Well, I hope you liked this chapter! What do you think is happening about Lun? give me your thoughts!
> 
> Please comment and leave kudos!
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> ;3 Luv yah
> 
> See you soon...
> 
> I'm thinking about writing a side story with the duels but clearly, I have to study spells and all so it might take a while.... (no promises about that.)
> 
> PS: Oh, right, my other story is up. So go read it (I managed to keep it shortish) hope you like, please review it!
> 
> PPS: So, I'm reviewing the chapters because of gramatical errors, one of the readers is literally an angel and decided to help me...
> 
> PPPS: If you feel like sending me requests suggestions or prompts, feel free to reach me by PM or email me: celticdaughterfics (gmail)


	28. Chapter 27

In about half an hour, Luna had changed the bed back into a couch, their breakfast appeared on the table and they were all happily chatting. As they finished and everything vanished, the Joan of Arc painting appeared, saying Moire asked if she could see them. Harry was quicker and answered. The first year entered the room shyly but beamed as soon as everyone in the room greeted her warmly. Hermione was sitting on a large couch with Fleur, the blonde woman leaning on her as she was hugging her. The wise girl smiled the youngster.

"Hey, Moire…"

"Hi! I wanted to see if I can hang with you a little… The girls are doing their homework and I finished them yesterday…" The girl looked down.

"Sure!" Luna exclaimed while the others simply nodded.

"You are always welcome, Moire," Fleur said, smiling at her.

"Babe, you don't even live here…" Hermione said chuckling "But it is true, Moire."

"What are you doing?" The girl asked curiously.

"Cuddling and chatting," Ginny answered, smiling as she got closer to her boyfriend.

"We 'ave room 'ere eef you want…" Fleur said, smiling. The girl remembered her of her sister. Moire nodded, getting closer to them. The veela made room for the younger girl so they both would be leaning on Hermione and the brunette beamed at her. The girl joined them on the couch and with little adjustments, they were all seating comfortably.

"So, Moire, how has your first year here been so far?" Luna asked.

"Great! It's all fantastic!" The first year grinned at the younger blonde. "It's all so new!"

"I know the feeling…" Hermione smiled dreamingly. Fleur looked at her girlfriend and moved only a little bit so she could kiss her cheek. Smiling, she leaned her head on the brunette's shoulder again. "And school?" Everyone but Moire chuckled. "What? It's important!"

"Of course eet ees,'ermione. We all just knew you would ask." She was glad she was by Hermione's side, knowing that if it wasn't the case she would have to endure a full-on glare.

"Brilliant! Professor Sprout said I remind her of one of her older students." Moire answered excitedly. "I don't know who, though!"

"Pretty sure I know," Harry said, smiling at his best friend.

They continued talking, when they didn't have anything else to ask the younger girl, they began telling their stories while in school. In about two hours, the warrior painting came into view to let them know that the rest of the first years were looking for Moire. The girl jumped from where she was and thanked them for the stories then left to find her friends. Fleur laid down and used Hermione's thighs as cushions and smiled at the brunette.

"She's really cute." The blonde said.

"She's like a younger version of 'Mione…" Ginny smiled at her friend, who smiled back not knowing what to say. "No wonder you find her cute." She added, snorting.

Fleur threw a cushion at her without looking. The ginger managed to catch it, smirking.

"I'm one of the best chasers this school has seen, you know?"

"She's a remarkable seeker too…" Harry added proudly, kissing her head.

"Yeah, yeah. I doubt she can beat me." Fleur grinned, looking at the ginger. She saw the girl's eyes sparkle.

"You play Quidditch?" Hermione asked, clearly surprised.

"Oui, beater."

"So, that challenge…"

"Anytime, ginger."

"Oh, Merlin…" Hermione groaned. Fleur looked at her questioning what was wrong, despite what she said the brunette simply shook her head and smiled at her.

"Hey, why don't we have lunch in London?" Luna said, smiling as always.

Hermione nodded. "Professor McGonagall actually gave us permission to yesterday. I forgot to say…"

"She has been quite flexible…" Harry noted.

"Eet might be because of zee battle." Fleur offered, but Ginny shook her head.

"It's just us. Actually, the rest of the school is following quite a common routine."

Fleur shrugged. "She must like you." They fell in a reflective silence.

"So, London…" Luna said a while later.

Ginny's stomach growled in response and they all laughed.

"Never stay between a Weasley and their food!" Hermione said. Fleur chuckled and got up.

Each went to their room to get ready, Luna trailing behind Ginny and Harry on their way up. Fleur exchanged a look with Hermione as they climbed the stairs behind them. As they reached the top, they saw Harry and Ginny going through their clothes while Luna directed herself to the bathroom with a clean stack of clothes. "Oh, right…" Hermione murmured but still had curiosity stamped on her face. Fleur didn't understand why Hermione was so curious. They were all friends, after all, she had some of her clothes at some of her friends' houses. She followed the brunette into her room.

Fleur fell face first in the bed. She wasn't being really gracious these days. But she wanted to smell Hermione's perfume one more time.

"You know if you want one of my clothes you can just grab one…" Hermione smirked. "No need to sniff the bed, babe."

"Who said I was sniffing zee bed?" Fleur forced herself to stay in the exact same position she was before the brunette spoke. She felt her face burn.

"Uhm, you're facing the bed for a while now… And I can see how you are not happy it's Sunday."

"Nonsense." She mumbled, still not moving. Fleur didn't hear her move, she simply felt Hermione throwing herself on top of her, laughing hard. She chuckled and managed to turn her face in order to breathe, only to have her face bombarded with kisses.

Still laughing, Hermione got out of the bed. "If you need something just pick from my wardrobe." She said slipping into the bathroom. Fleur stayed where she was for another minute or so, then decided to pick one of Hermione's shirts to wear. She noticed some folded clothes she recognized as her own.

"Dear, did you ask Dobby to get more clothes for me?" She asked to the bathroom door

"No, he must have cleaned the ones you were wearing Friday. You left them with mine, after all."

"Oh, right…" She went back to choosing a shirt. Ignoring her clean one.

About an hour later they met downstairs. Fleur had her used clothes shrunk and in her jeans pocket.

"Where to?" Harry asked as they gathered around the fireplace.

"I could use a stop on my place. Leave my used clothes…" Fleur suggested. Before she could finish her excuse, they all agreed, smiling.

She was the first to step in the fireplace and vanish to her apartment. Fleur had been expecting a letter from her mother, one she only remembered when Luna proposed having lunch in London. The older veela would answer anytime now and she would probably send the letter through one of their house elves as the content was quite sensitive. Or at least she thought so. As she stepped inside, she saw a rather big package over the coffee table with a folded parchment over it. Walking to it, she heard the others arrive. She was aware that only she could see it as she felt a great lot of veela magic around it. Well, maybe Hermione could see it too.

"Hey, babe… Were you expecting mail?" Theory proved. She nodded, feeling the others' gaze on her she smiled. The magic that involved the package allowed her to give permission to others to see through. She heard a gasp.

"Hey, that wasn't there!" Ginny said.

"Gin, wizarding world…" Harry said with a smirk but not less impressed than the ginger.

"Oh, veela magic!" Luna simply smiled.

"Oui, Luna… Now I should get eet to a more safe place. Eef you excuse me… Make your selves at home." Fleur smiled at her friends (she was really happy she could call them that now, to be honest), who nodded. "Eeef you want some wine, eet's in zee fridge." She added, looking at Ginny and began her way to her bedroom. The blonde had the feeling the package's content was directed not only for her but for Hermione too. When she didn't hear the brunette's pace behind her, she turned. The lioness was shamelessly staring at her behind. She smirked, "'ermione? Aren't you coming? I guess maman sent you something too." She said, startling the brunette, who blushed and nodded.

As they entered her room and Hermione closed the door carefully, she placed the package on her dressing table and took the parchment on top of it. The brunette slowly approached her and kissed her shoulder hugging her from her back.

"What is it? You couldn't open it in front of them." Hermione stated. Fleur knew she would understand.

"Oui. But I don't really know what eet ees."

She opened the parchment, aware of Hermione peering over her shoulder, and read:

_S'il vous plaît, n'ouvrez que votre partenaire ou seul._

_(Please, open only with your mate or alone.)_

She smiled. It actually had her grandmother's handwriting. She heard Hermione sigh and mumble something along "damn French" lines and she chuckled.

"Eet's from my grand-mère, says to open only with you or alone." She provided in a voice no louder than a whisper. The lioness hummed. Fleur proceeded to open the wrapped volume, carefully. She found an envelope addressed to her and a pile of books. Taking the envelope and opening it, she saw that the letter was written in English much to Hermione's delight.

> _Dear Fleur,_
> 
> _How are you and Hermione? I hope you both are fine and safe. Well, I guess Hermione is reading it too so, how are you dear? I look forward to meeting you. Anyway, I obviously wrote this so Hermione could read it without your aid, Fleur. Its content is directed to you both. First, as you asked, Fleur, your grand-mère is sending some books on veela's culture. She says you must be careful as it contains our culture's deepest secrets. And your father sends some of his notebooks from when he started to research veela's mating with wizards hoping it will be able to enlighten Hermione. That being said, I know it's quite early for it but I'd be pleased if you are able to come home at some point of the Christmas Holidays. Obviously, the invite extends to your friends. Your sister has been pestering me to ask you if she will be able to visit you during the holidays. I don't know if you have any plans already. Let me know.  
>  _
> 
> _Miss you,_
> 
> _Your Mother._

Fleur smiled at the letter and gave it to her very curious girlfriend to read.

"Your father sent me his notebooks?" She could see the glee in the brunette's eyes as she nodded.

"We can go zrough zese after we get back from lunch." She rolled her eyes as she saw Hermione pouting. "Ginny ees 'ungry. And I really don't want 'er eating all my food." The lioness' shoulders slumped in surrender.

"Right, but then I'll kick them from here." She mumbled. Fleur smiled and nodded. When they walked back to the living room, they saw their three friends sitting on the couch, patiently waiting for them. Each had a glass of wine on her hands. "Let's go…"

As they went to the street, they decided where they would eat.

* * *

Hermione and Fleur were sitting with their friends at the table of a restaurant they had found in the Diagon Alley. They were at the alley because Luna suggested. It was almost deserted and the people that were there knew better than to disturb them.

"We could go to the cafe and say hello to Jilpy…" she whispered to her girlfriend, the blonde smiled and nodded.

They had already eaten and decided to make their way back home. Obviously, they did as Hermione suggested and went to the cafe first. When they were near both buildings, Ginny began to drag Harry and Luna towards Harry's flat. The redhead looked at her best friend and winked. Hermione rolled her eyes but silently thanked her.

"What Ginny zinks we will be doing?" Fleur asked as they walked to her place. She had obviously noticed the exchange.

Hermione shrugged. "Her mind whirls around sex and mischief… But she was just teasing me. She probably didn't notice you saw her winking…" She smiled at the blonde.

Fleur sighed theatrically as they reached the front door of the flat. "Eet's a shame I won't be allowed to kiss my girlfriend as much as I'd want…"

"And why is that?" Hermione looked at the blonde, confused. She had stopped in her tracks and stood by the door while the veela kept walking towards her bedroom.

"Oh, eet 'appens zat my papa sent 'er 'is journals and she ees far too eager to read zem…" She answered, loudly as she was already in her room and the brunette still hadn't moved.

Hermione smiled to herself and quickly went after the veela. When she entered the room, Fleur had her back turned to her and was obviously going through the package. The brunette approached her and hugged her from behind. She smirked when she felt Fleur's breath hitched thanks to a small kiss she placed on the back of her neck.

"Well, your girlfriend must be out of her mind if she chooses books over kissing you." She said in a low voice, near the other woman ear.

She heard her take a deep breath as she placed a kiss on her neck.

"Oh, sometimes I question myself eef she ees sane…" Her voice wasn't louder than a whisper. "But I wouldn't keep 'er from learning. She looks quite wonderful when she ees focused and all." Hermione smiled at the praising, she wasn't used to it yet and gave the blonde another kiss, this time on her shoulder. "Who am I to stay between her and knowledge?"

"Uhm… Her smoking hot veela girlfriend, perhaps?" Hermione then encouraged the blonde to turn on her arms and face her. She was greeted by the orange orbs she admired so much.

"Zat I am." Fleur kissed her lightly.

"Quite full of herself too…" Hermione said, smirking. The blonde feigned offense and narrowed her eyes. "But no less smoking hot." The brunette kissed the French lightly and smiled at her.

"You are so lucky I can't resist your smile…" The veela said, locking eyes with her. "Are you sure you don't want to begin reading zem now?" She asked, clearly looking for any uncertainty on the lioness' eyes.

"Yes, Fleur. I very much prefer enjoying your company. Besides, I can read them after I get back." She smiled reassuringly and kissed her softly. Feeling Fleur's tongue trace her lower lip, she allowed the blonde to deepen the kiss. Only when the need for oxygen was almost unbearable, they pulled back. Hermione joined their foreheads and smiled.

They were both panting but none wanted to let the other go. Fleur was holding Hermione tightly by her waist and she had her arms draped around the blonde's neck.

"Wine?" Hermione nodded. Fleur loosened her grip in order to allow the lioness to turn on her arms so they could walk to the kitchen together. Both had the habit of not using their wands for everything, Hermione because she was used to living with her parents and Fleur because she liked to. After serving themselves, they headed to the couch and enjoyed each other's company.

A few hours later, about an hour after the sunset, Hermione looked alarmed to the clock as she noticed the lack of sunlight.

"Merlin's beard!"

"I guess you 'ave to go…" Fleur said, pouting a little. Hermione kissed her in hopes to make the pout go away.

"Unfortunately, yes."

They went once again to Fleur's room so Hermione could get the journals. The blonde entered her closet while the lioness separated the journals from the other books. When the brunette got the books on her purse, she retrieved the shirt of the pajamas she had used the night before from it. Fleur came back wearing her pajamas.

"Since you were sniffing my bed…" Hermione extended her hand to Fleur, holding the pajama top.

"I was not." The blonde argued, mid pouting but moved to get the shirt nonetheless.

"Being that the case, I believe you won't need it…" Hermione tried to move faster than her girlfriend and store the shirt back into her purse, which was nearly impossible given her heritage and her Quidditch abilities (something she had just found out). Fleur managed to hold her wrist before she could place it back.

"I definitely need eet." She smiled. The lioness was certain she knew exactly the effect her smiles had on her. The veela had a long list of completely different smiles but this one was by far her favorite and was one reserved for her. Her joy was shown not only by the smile, but it was obvious in her eyes. Hermione had begun to notice that the blonde more frequently than not looked at her as if she herself was the only reason she was able to smile and enjoy life. "Why are you staring?" As she was drowning in the blonde's blue eyes (not that she could be blamed), she saw a shadow of worry when she asked.

"Just admiring my favorite part of you."

"Uh, I could swear you liked my butt zee better. I guess I'll stop swaying zat much zen."

"Don't you dare!" The brunette laughed but made a point by grabbing the blonde's bottom quickly. The shirt was quickly tossed in the bed general direction by an amused Fleur.

"So you like eet."

"Hate to see you leave, love to watch you go." Hermione said with a smirk.

"Uhm…" Fleur kissed her softly, the lioness decided to deepen the kiss. Soon they were lost in each other, when the air was needed, they pulled out smiling.

"I should go."

"'aven't dinner time passed already?"

"It has, but as far as I can see you don't really plan on cooking and I can't cook since I really like your apartment and don't want to burn it down. So I might just go to the kitchens or maybe ask Dobby for something to eat…" Hermione smiled, knowing the veela wasn't willing to let her go so soon.

"Uhm, I could figure something out for us to eat…" Fleur hugged the lioness tighter, making a clear point that she didn't want her to leave that early.

"I certainly won't complain. Dinner with my favorite person…" Hermione kissed the first piece of flesh she managed to find, which happened to be the nape of her neck.

Fleur made them a quick dinner and they enjoyed each other's company some more. About half an hour after dinner, Hermione found herself entering her common room at Hogwarts after saying goodnight to Fleur.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sooo anyone eager to read some Quidditch scenes? No, it won't be the next one because they have school and Fleur has a job and currently not allowed to wander in the school premises unless they are heading to the DA meeting.... but soon enough! I'll not spoil what the next chapter brings...
> 
> I hope you liked the update, please comment and leave kudos!
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> ;3 Luv yah
> 
> see you soon...
> 
> For those who live in the USA, I hope you are alright after these hurricanes and all that! (to anyone anywhere affected by them actually...)
> 
> PS: Oh, right, my other story is up. So go read it (I managed to keep it shortish) hope you like, please review it!
> 
> PPS: So, I'm reviewing the chapters because of gramatical errors, one of the readers is literally an angel and decided to help me...
> 
> PPPS: If you feel like sending me requests suggestions or prompts, feel free to reach me by PM or email me: celticdaughterfics (gmail)


	29. Chapter 28

The week passed at a painstakingly slow pace. What made Hermione go through it were Fleur's letters and their conversations through floo. She missed the blonde more than she cared to admit (she knew Fleur was aware of how much) and was obviously counting the days until Friday. She was dreading the work meeting, though. That meeting meant she had to go through what happened in the Malfoy's Manor (They wanted to follow the timeline and had reached that specific moment, much to her dread). She had hated to remember her friends that they needed to write their reports too. She would keep them from it if she could. It was Wednesday and she was yet to write the report. It was fairly early in the evening and she had already finished everything she had to, except for that fucking report. Sighing, she took off from the library (where she had been since supper) and headed to the Gryffindor tower. Most of the students were already in their common room so the hallways were quite empty. She got to the common room she shared with Harry in no time and put her bag on a nearby couch. Hermione needed to talk to Fleur, only the veela could calm her. She didn't want to remember that nights it was a terrible time for her and her friends. Hearing the blonde would calm her down. She sat in front of the fireplace and flooed only part of her body to the veela's place. As usual, she was sitting on her couch, reading and waiting for her.

"Hi, babe!" Hermione said, earning Fleur's attention.

"'ey… Eet's earlier zan usual, ees somezing wrong?" Concern was clear on the veela's face as she approached her fireplace. Hermione loved how her accent got stronger when she was worried or angry.

"No, everything is fine. I'll just head earlier to my bedroom and decided to floo you. I have to write some reports and it's preferable that I do it in my room so…" Hermione ranted. Gods, she was really nervous. Fleur nodded. The lioness noticed the worry never really left the other woman's face. "I'm fine. Promise."

"Okay. Eef anything 'appens you call me."

"Sure." She smiled.

"I miss you, mon ange." Fleur smiled at her as if she had hung the stars just for her.

"Me too, babe…" Merlin, she loved that pet name.

They talked for a while. She could obviously truly go to her house, but she was fully aware that they would lose track of time and she would be no one tomorrow. That's why they simply talked and rarely they fully flooed. Secretly, she doubted she could ever be the veela's mate sometimes. Not that she thought Fleur had lied, she didn't. Sometimes the years she had suffered bullying came to her and made her doubt herself. And sometimes she simply couldn't believe her luck. So she low-key thought that if Fleur missed her, she wouldn't be able to see she had been mistaken (Fleur basically thought the same, not that Hermione knew that). When they said good night, Hermione went to her room. She was indeed calmer. Not much, but still…

Hermione had been thanking every possible muggle God that she never really felt the consequences of the torture she had been through. She had read about it, before the event. And saw Neville's parents. Now that the war had ended, she had been able to think about it. She was absolutely lucky to figure out how to lock that memories and experiences out of their minds, knowing they still had a long way through the war. She had read about this kind of trauma after it was all over. And that's why revisiting them was scaring her so much. There were few cases documented about that and basically none about what she was about to do. No one knew about what happened there, except for Harry, Ron, Luna and herself. And obviously, they were all in the same boat. She hadn't explained any of it to the others but was sure Luna had figured it out too. Merlin, she was scared as fuck.

She changed once she entered her room. Since Sunday she had been sleeping holding the shirt Fleur had used as the pajamas top while there. She decided she would wear it this time. Her smell was still in it and obviously helped her relax a little. Merlin, she was completely utterly in love. She moved to her desk and begun the report. If the minister took all her reports, he would basically have a continuous text ever since Cedric's death. In two hours, she was writing about Bellatrix's torture. She was actually describing it in a very technical way, saying how long each strike took (until the moment she couldn't count anymore) and how many there had been. She wasn't sure. After she described the third one, she started shaking. By the sixth, she could almost feel them vividly. Her whole body was aching when she got to the moment the mad witch started writing on her arm. When she finished writing, Hermione was shaking. She had written until the moment Luna left them and went back to school. The lioness took the sleeping draught she had gotten with Madam Pomfrey and got to bed, hoping she wouldn't be in so much distraught the next morning. She woke up the next morning just in time for breakfast, she tried to focus on the day she had ahead instead of thinking about the report. She sat in front of Ginny and focused on eating and then going to class. She was eating her second croissant when her ginger friend noticed something was off.

"'Mione, what's wrong?"

"Nothing." She said, training her eyes on the plate in front of her. She had obviously hoped for the best and it hadn't happened.

"I don't buy it." The redhead insisted. But before Hermione could answer, she felt more than saw Luna sit by her. "Lun?" Ginny's tone made the brunette look at her blonde friend. The girl lacked her usual smile and her eyes looked shallow. She saw a weak smile be formed on her face as if she was trying to reassure the redhead she was fine. "Why are you like that?" None of them answered but both looked at their friend this time. Harry wasn't with her, that was odd (to state the obvious). The blackhead sat beside his girlfriend as soon as Hermione noticed his absence. He clearly wasn't in his best days but was better than Luna, as far as she could tell. The older lioness saw the younger look between the three of them and realization came to her face instantly. "Shit! That's why you said you would stay up late and told me that you didn't want to disturb me?" She said to Harry, who simply nodded. "You three are going to the hospital wing as soon as you finish eating." She stated.

Hermione opened her mouth to argue but received a glare from her friend. After Harry finished his meal (which was a simple cup of coffee), they followed Ginny sheepishly. As they entered the room, the nurse approached the group with obvious worry.

"Uh, I think they are… I don't know how to explain. They had to write reports about a specific moment of the war, apparently, they did so yesterday and are obviously not feeling well." Ginny tried to explain as much as she could. The redhead had no idea of what had transpired there. Madam Pomfrey simply nodded and guided them to three different beds.

"I hoped they wouldn't need to come. They came in individually, explained that they had to write these reports and asked for a sleeping draught. I gave it in hopes it wouldn't be as bad as they thought it would. To be fair, Miss Granger and Miss Lovegood were quite concerned. Mr. Potter only came because Miss Granger apparently told him so." Ginny nodded, not knowing any of this. "I would recommend full rest but I'm aware they won't accept it and it would be to no avail. I'll just give you some calming potions so you will be able to go to class and Miss Weasley, thank you for bringing them. I'll leave three more with you, make sure they take them after dinner." The nurse said, after attending to the three.

Hermione instantly felt better after taking the potion and made sure to thank the nurse as did her friends. She knew Harry didn't suffer any torture and that calmed her quite a bit, she didn't wish that pain on anyone. Well, maybe that crazy witch. She had no idea of what Luna had endured as she had been there for longer than them and never talked about it. The lioness forced herself to focus completely on the classes they had and did everything that was possible to keep her mind from wandering. After dinner, she took the calming draught. When they reached the common room, Ginny insisted that they shouldn't do any chores that day and insisted on making them playing exploding snaps for some time. Hermione flooed Fleur for a while and the other three started to get ready for bed.

* * *

As soon as she saw Hermione's face on the fireplace she knew there was something wrong. She asked the brunette, the girl dismissed it saying she was simply tired because she hadn't slept enough. Fleur felt like there was something off but didn't press her. A few minutes later, Hermione said good night. She knew the lioness would come to her when she was ready so she wished her a good night and sweet dreams. When she was left alone, thinking about what could be happening to her mate, the talk they had the night before made her realize something.

"Merde!" She got up and went through the papers she had, the reports they had been revising their last meeting. Reading Hermione's she realized that the brunette was probably like that because of the next one she would have to write. Calming herself enough, she sent a Patronus to the only person she could think of, Ginny. The whispered message was a simple question. If the brunette was being taken care. The response was also simple: 'yes'. With that, she managed to calm down enough to fall asleep.

* * *

Ginny woke up to the sound of screaming. It took her a while to understand what was happening as she had woken up and grabbed her wand immediately. She was fully awake, so was Harry, obviously. He had managed to sleep when she held him, it apparently kept him from reliving the mansion in his dreams. The two girls she heard screaming had no such luck. Luna insisted she could sleep in the common room and made them take Harry's room. Obviously, she now saw it had been a good idea.

"Harry, go see Lun." The boy simply nodded, worry obvious in his face. As he left the room, she saw him turn his face towards his sister's room but he did as she asked.

She ran towards Hermione's quarters. Entering, she saw her best friend in the middle of her bed, screaming at the top of her lungs. She was obviously having a nightmare. Her eyes were closed but her body moved as if she was trying to free herself. She ran to her as soon as she saw blood on the sheets.

"'Mione! 'Mione! Wake up!" She shook her friend until the girl opened her eyes. After she focused her eyes on her, Hermione started crying. She managed to calm the brunette down a little. As she saw she was calmer, she started to check her for injuries. She was sure she saw blood. When she touched Hermione's left arm, the girl flinched. Carefully, she calmed her once again and moved to take a look on her arm. She gasped as soon as she read what was written there. She was right to think the brunette had an injury. The word 'MUDBLOOD' could be read on her arm. The letters her bloody. No word was spoken as she cast a cleaning spell and summoned bandages. The blood wouldn't stop running. Slowly. Fleur was so going to kill her. She said Hermione was being taken care.

"Oh shit! It reopened?" She heard Harry from the door, holding a wimping Luna. She never saw the blonde in such state, ever. Hermione nodded.

"I guess the blade was cursed so that every time I revived the moment the cuts would reopen." Hermione managed to say, between her sobs.

"What the fuck happened there?" She asked, feeling left out.

"Bellatrix." She heard Luna answer in a weak voice. The older lioness simply nodded.

"I'll get Lun to our bed," Harry said softly.

"Can we not talk about that? You can read what I've written…" Ginny nodded and smoothed her hair as she closed her eyes once again.

Deciding she should get Fleur because she was sure she would be even more mad at her if she didn't, she kissed the brunette's head as she noticed her breathing get deeper and evener. Getting out of her bed, she noticed a shirt tossed aside and guessed it was the one the veela used while she was there. She retrieved it and placed it over Hermione's arms, she instantly smiled.

Ginny opened the door of Harry's room and saw him soothing the blonde. "I'm going to call Fleur." The boy nodded.

She needed to go fast. She knew how this kind of nightmare worked and she didn't want to have Hermione screaming once again. Not that the scream really bothered her, but seeing her best friend in such pain did. She stepped in the fireplace quickly and soon she was inside Fleur's apartment.

"Right, she is sleeping." She moved towards where she remembered the veela's bedroom was. As she raised her hand to knock on the door, it opened. The light she conjured with her wand flickered and made the eyes she was looking into sparkle. She was quite sure Fleur's eyes were blue. She was staring at orange ones.

"Que s'est-il passé?"

"Uh?" She was shocked, she was indeed talking to Fleur? Or some other veela?

"What 'appened?"

"Fleur?"

"Oui. I guess you've never seen my veela so closely… What 'appened, Ginny?" The blonde seemed slightly annoyed but also understanding.

"Right. Come, she had a really bad nightmare and woke up screaming, thrashing around and crying. I guessed it was better to call you because Lun is currently in the same state…"

They flooed back to Hogwarts. As soon as they stepped into the common room, they heard the brunette start screaming once again. Ginny saw Fleur run towards the screaming.

"Merde! What zee fuck?" She heard the French woman exclaim as she reached the top of the stair.

"Apparently, Bellatrix carved her arm with a cursed knife." She explained, trying not to flinch at the memory of what was written.

"I got 'er, Ginny. Zank you. Go look after 'arry and Luna…"

Their names startled her and she got to her room. She found Harry in the exact same position he was before she left. Without saying a word, she cleaned the ashes from her pajamas with a quick spell and got to bed. Harry had engorged the bed so the three of them would fit, but she decided she would hold them both. She made the boy move to his side a little and laid in between them Harry didn't complain and simply understood her gesture. She made Luna move closer to her in order to make sure she could hold her and keep her nightmare away and Harry moved closer to her, kissing her cheek. They fell asleep that way. The three of them smiling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some angst here... Brace yourselves cuz the next one we will see some more. I really hope you liked this one (well at least my writing. I don't really like seeing Mione distraught) 
> 
> Please review!
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> ;3 Luv yah
> 
> see you soon... Sorry about the cliffhanging...
> 
> For those who live in the USA, I hope you are alright after these hurricanes and all that! (to anyone anywhere affected by them actually...)
> 
> PS: Oh, right, my other story is up. So go read it (I managed to keep it shortish) hope you like, please review it!
> 
> PPS: So, I'm reviewing the chapters because of gramatical errors, one of the readers is literally an angel and decided to help me...
> 
> PPPS: If you feel like sending me requests suggestions or prompts, feel free to reach me by PM or email me: celticdaughterfics (gmail)


	30. Chapter 29

Fleur had woken up startled. She felt like her mate was in distress. She didn't know it was even possible as they didn't take the step that would forge that specific bound. She forced herself to breathe deeply, trying to calm herself down. She noticed her night vision was better. Obviously, the veela had woken her up feeling Hermione's pain somehow. She got up as soon as she heard the fireplace. She was still agitated, but another deep breath told her that who entered her house was Ginny. Hearing the footsteps stop in front of her door, she opened it and faced a stunned ginger.

"Que s'est-il passé?" She asked without thinking.

"Uh?" The confusion on the redhead's face made her realize she had just spoken in French.

"What 'appened?" She translated.

"Fleur?" Oh, The veela eyes… Merde! She took a deep breath.

"Oui. I guess you've never seen my veela so closely… What 'appened, Ginny?" The blonde felt a little annoyed she had to ask a third time but understood the shock on the other girl's face.

"Right. Come, she had a really bad nightmare and woke up screaming, thrashing around and crying. I guessed it was better to call you because Lun is currently in the same state…"

They flooed back to Hogwarts. As soon as they stepped into the common room, they heard the brunette start screaming once again. Fleur ran towards the screaming.

"Merde! What zee fuck?" She exclaimed as soon as she saw the blood on the sheets and on her girlfriend's arm. She moved fast and sat by the screaming girl on the bed. She exhaled some soothing thrall she hoped would work on the brunette.

"Apparently, Bellatrix carved her arm with a cursed knife," Ginny explained from the door, she looked like she was trying not to flinch.

"I got 'er, Ginny. Zank you. Go look after 'arry and Luna…" She had to wake the lioness up to take a look on her arm. So she began to carefully make the girl open her eyes.

"Fleur?" She had a confused look as sleep hadn't left her eyes yet.

"Oui, mon ange. Ginny went to get me as soon as you fell asleep again." She answered softly, kissing her head. "Now, let me clean your arm." Hermione did as she told her but was clearly afraid of her reaction. She was sure to be careful so the girl wouldn't feel any pain. Before she could make sense of what was written, Hermione flinched and retrieved her arm, sniffing a little. "Hey, let me clean it…" She asked softly once again. The arm was once again in front of her. With a spell, all the dried blood was gone and she could read the awful word. "Merde!" She gasped. With another spell, she cleaned the wound and softly kissed her. She noticed the blood wouldn't stop running. "Shit"

"The blood will only stop in a few days." Hermione offered in a small voice.

"'ow does eet feel?"

"Hurts like hell," Hermione answered at earnest. Fleur flinched at the thought of her girlfriend being in such pain.

She tried a spell she had learned after she got into a fight with another veela and had her arms scratched by her talons. Veela talon's wounds would only close with time. No magic would work. That's what her mother had said, at least. "Better?" The girl nodded. She placed new bandages over it and kissed it once again. Fleur got up so she could close the door but stopped in her tracks as the girl winced.

"Where are you going?"

Hearing Hermione's voice so broken and small made her heart shatter. "Close the door, mon ange. Just a second." Once the door was closed, she practically raced back towards the bed. Once she was comfortable, holding the lioness, she kissed her head and once again wished her good night.

She woke up with the alarm the lioness somehow managed to make work inside the school. Turning it off, she thanked Merlin the lioness hadn't wake up. She conjured her Patronus and send it with an explanation to the headmistress about her presence and why she thought it would be better for her not to go to class that Friday. She received an answer quickly and sent another message to Bill, explaining her absence and asking him to explain it to the minister and the head of their department. After Bill's Patronus came with an answer, she snuggled back into Hermione and fell asleep again.

A couple of hours later Fleur was awake again, she was obviously concerned with her lioness. She didn't know what had transpired that damned night but it was clearly awful. She felt bad for making the girl go through this again to write the reports and a little sad she didn't say something to her, but she could obviously understand. Fleur and her inner veela wished they could bring the mad witch back to life only to be able to torture her and kill her again. But she decided that the next best thing would be to bring the owner of the mansion to justice, maybe a little scattered. She was deep in thoughts but the whole time she held Hermione close and soothed her hair. And then, after deciding what she would do revenge the sleeping girl, she lost herself admiring her girlfriend. She was counting the freckles over her nose, almost too lost in her beauty.

"It's rude to stare…" She started hearing Hermione's hoarse voice. It was clear to her its hoarseness was due to both sleep and screaming. Fleur grimaced as soon as she remembered the girl's scream. She opened her eyes (she didn't notice she had closed them) looked at her girlfriend's face and automatically smiled.

"Uhm, I was only admiring your beauty…" She leaned and kissed the Gryffindor softly. "'ow are you feeling?"

"Like I've been run over by a truck." The woman smiled at her despite her answer. "What are you doing here? Not that I'm complaining…"

"Your ginger friend brought me in zee middle of zee night to take care of you." She smiled softly, knowing that the first time she had answered it the lioness was quite sleepy and under heavy thrall.

"I guess I'm not as strong as I thought I was…" The lioness said, looking away from her.

"Don't you dare to say zis." She moved Hermione's head so she was looking into her eyes. "Look at me." She asked softly. "You are one of zee strongest people I've ever met. Don't ever zink less of you because of you 'ad a nightmare. Especially given zee circumstances." She said as the woman complied.

"Sorry…" Hermione spoke in a small voice.

Fleur kissed the lioness on the top of her head. "No need to apologize," She fought to refrain herself from saying the three words that were on her mind as the brunette buried her face in her neck.

"I figure you want to know what happened." She spoke into her neck. Fleur was almost certain that she only managed to hear her because of her enhanced hearing (veela treat).

"I do, but only when you are ready. And I know you have written everything." She felt the need to hold the lioness closer and did so. "I can simply read it." She felt the girl shake her head.

"I should tell you. It might help me with…" She trailed out, remembering the nightmare.

"Recovering." At that point, they heard a faint knock on the door. "Oui?"

"It's Ginny."

"Come in, Gin," Hermione said, trying to move so she could face the newcomer. Fleur made sure to hold her near, her veela wasn't really ready to let her move away. The lioness snickered. "I'll not go away." She whispered, so only Fleur could hear her. Before the ginger knocked, she had most of her body over the blonde. She relaxed a bit and the brunette moved so she was on her side, still on the veela's arms and her body was still in contact with her. After she felt Hermione's head settle on her chest, she looked at the door. Ginny was smiling faintly.

"Thanks for making sure we would be dismissed…" The redhead said looking at her. She simply nodded. "Uhm, Dobby actually left quite a feast downstairs. Are you hungry?" As if to answer the ginger's question Hermione's stomach grumbled loudly.

"We will be there in a minute." The brunette answered and their friend was off. "You can hold me downstairs too, babe." Hermione eyed her, knowingly. Fleur felt as if she was reading her as an open book. Also, that made her inner veela calm down, she wouldn't have to let her go for too long. She felt her eyes swift quickly and then come back to normal almost to show Hermione that the veela had understood. "I love both colors of your eyes." The lioness stated. A second later she blushed, after realizing what she had said. Fleur simply beamed and blushed a little.

"I love yours too…" She managed to whisper before kissing her lovingly.

They entered the living room together, Fleur thanked the magic school silently for having large stairways otherwise she wouldn't have been able to hold the lioness next to her on the way down.

"Morning," Luna said as soon as she saw them. She was sat between Harry and Ginny, that was quite odd but the events from the night before made her dismiss the questions coming into her mind.

"Morning…" Hermione answered as Fleur said Bonjour.

They were all a little somber and saying that about Luna was quite a feat as far as she could remember. After they silently had what Fleur decided to call a brunch (after all it was almost noon) they sat down and enjoyed each others company. After a long silence (none of them really willing to begin a conversation), Fleur quietly asked one of the things that were on her mind.

"Luna, 'ow are you feeling?" The silence was now carried with worry, from herself and from the others in the room.

"I'm quite sore. It was really vivid." The younger blonde answered quietly and leaned on Ginny. She felt her girlfriend nod. They were sharing a couch as usual and the brunette was leaning on her, her head on her shoulder.

"I'm sorry you 'ad to go zrough zis." She said in earnest.

"These were awful times," Ginny said solemnly, clearly remembering her own experiences. Fleur shifted, remembering hers.

"I… I was taken by them before school began…" Luna began talking, all their eyes were on her. They were all surprised she had begun to talk. "Shortly after Harry's birthday, my dad left for one of his trips. He never really engaged the war. I was alone home when they came. I managed to stun two of them before they reached me. There were five of them. I had the impression I was going to die that day." Fleur felt the silence stretch and saw Ginny hold the Ravenclaw and Harry scoop nearer her, both obviously trying to reassure her and give her some comfort. "They threw me in that dungeon as soon as we got to the mansion. Every day they would fetch me and torture me a little. At first, I think they believed I knew where you were. But then it was simply for fun, so they could laugh a bit." The young blonde was crying the whole time she spoke. Fleur saw the redhead start stroking her head and Harry hold her hand. All of them stayed in silence, waiting for her to finish. To get that stories out of her. None of them could really have even a slight idea of what she had gone through. "They would take turns, none of them really cared if I died. Especially after their blackmail didn't work the way they wanted." Hermione motioned to say something but was cut short by the blonde. "It was not your fault. I actually still can't believe he did it to you. He was too selfish."

"'e ees you father, it's understandable. Even expected" Fleur said, thinking about what she would do in his position.

"If Tom Riddle had won the war I would have died anyway. He chose not to fight for what he believed in." Fleur saw a glint of anger pass in the girl's eyes. "Anyway, I lost count of how many days I was kept there. Then you showed up. I had almost lost hope when I saw you and Ron I knew we would get out." Luna seemed to be relieved. It was obvious she was, honestly. She kept silently crying into Ginny's shoulder. "When I heard Hermione, though, I was in agony. I knew what she was going through. It's something I don't want not even for my biggest enemy." She snuggled closer to Ginny, seeking comfort and signing she had finished speaking.

Instinctively, Fleur held Hermione closer. She didn't expect anyone to speak anytime soon. It surprised her when the brunette she held begun to move so she could speak.

* * *

"Not long after Mr. Lovegood, we crossed ways with a group of snatchers. I did the best I could to disguise Harry but I didn't think I would have to disguise myself or Ron. But with the time we had, and Harry being the only one able to really finish the war…" Hermione struggled, thinking about what had happened. She felt Fleur's thumb draw soothing patterns on her side. "If not for me being spotted on the Daily Prophet, we would have been free."

"You had no way to know, 'Mione," Ginny said, trying to calm her. She felt Fleur agree.

"They decided to bring us to the Malfoy Mansion, the headquarters apparently." She continued after a deep breath. "There was obviously a big commotion when we got there, but they had no way to know if Harry was indeed himself. Draco could have, he knew it was us but he said nothing. Thanks to him we are still here. Bellatrix saw the sword of Gryffindor and went nuts. More than she already was. When Greyback said they found it in my purse she snapped. Harry and Ron were thrown in the cell and she kept me there." She took another deep breath, trying to calm herself down. The simple memory made her body ache. "She crucioed me, asking me how I got the sword. When she failed to get an answer, she did it again. I could see the stoic faces of every Death Eater there, especially Malfoy's. Draco and Narcissa were the only ones I could see trying to contain their disgust. I think she realized I wouldn't say anything around the tenth crucio. By then I was certain I would die, lying on that floor. Or lose my mind at the very least. I could hear Ron screaming. It was then that she decided to step up her game. She started to make small cuts on none vital parts of my body." Hermione felt Fleur shake. She knew the woman was basically in agony simply hearing what had happened. "I'm sorry, Fleur…" She said in a whisper only she was meant to hear. The veela kissed her on the head and shook her head, a sign she understood (don't worry, I'm ok). "She alternated between the cuts and cruciatus for some time. I was actually almost losing myself. Then she decided to brand me." She heard her girlfriend whine lowly. She kept the moment away from her mind so the wound wouldn't get worse. "I was certain I would die. She was hovering above me with that knife, I knew it was cursed. I could feel the dark magic on my skin. A little while after she branded me, Harry and Ronald showed up and she held the blade announcing she would kill me. Dobby made the chandelier fall over us, when she tried to flee it she pushed me forward and I went out of range. Dobby took us out of there." She only realized she had been crying when she felt Fleur wiped away her tears and embrace her. They sat there, in silence. Hermione managed to calm down thanks to Fleur (the soothing patterns were really working) a few minutes after. Her body still hurt as hell. She should probably go to the hospital wing as soon as possible. Knowing Harry, he didn't want to say anything because he felt like he had no right to feel bad, given he hadn't endured the torture curse. After a few more minutes of silence, she was resolved to make him talk. It had been good to say everything out loud and it sure would help him. Only when she opened her mouth to say something, Luna talked.

"Harry, you should…"

"I know. I just don't feel like I have the right to feel half as bad as you…"

"Harry…"

"Ok, ok. After we got caught by the snatchers I had no idea of what Hermione had done with me. My face, actually. I kept quiet when we were at the Manor, I struggled to. But I did. I knew that if I handed over my identity it would be all lost. So I tried to control myself and Ron. Hearing Hermione screams was agony. Not close to what she was enduring but agony. I knew what was happening, I knew how it felt. I flinched every time I saw a red light illuminate the cell. I can't say it was torture, but it was very close to it. When the flashing stopped I was relieved, only to hear Hermione scream again. It was then that I remembered about the twin mirror. The snatchers hadn't found it, it was inside my sock. I had to give it a try. I called for help and a few minutes later Dobby appeared. He took Luna and Griphook out of there. Pettigrew showed up to see what was happening and we managed to get his wand from him and right after his makeshift silver hand choked him. We heard another scream and broke out. Only to see Hermione being held by Lestrange." She could see his face, he had been fighting his tears since he began speaking but when he stopped talking, he broke down. She saw Luna shift a little so she was holding him, both girls were trying to soothe him.

"Dobby?" She called, feeling her friend's eyes on her as soon as she spoke up. The elf appeared in front of her.

"What Dobby can do for you?" He looked at her but then looked around. "Is Harry Potter okay?" He squealed as he saw Harry's state. "Are you?" he added as he saw that everyone in the room was rather shaken.

"We will be, Dobby. Thanks for asking." She managed to smile at him, reassuringly (she hoped). "Could you please bring us some calming tea? I think it's in order." The house elf nodded. A couple of minutes later, he was back with the tea and some biscuits.

"Dobby will let the Headmistress know you are awake. She asked us to do so." He said before he left with a pop.

"Thank you for the idea, 'Mione," Ginny said. To Hermione, she and her own girlfriend were on the verge of breaking down. Fleur had grown silence and her hold on her was quite strong and Ginny was obviously struggling to soothe her friend and boyfriend and ignoring how bad she felt herself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Heeeey! I think it's actually quite cannon what I wrote (I tried my best at least...). In my research says the carving that Bella did on her arm is actually film-cannon, it was written to be more dramatic... I hope you enjoyed the chapter, as much as possible, at least. I certainly felt awful writing what they went through.  
> So, my pre-written chapters are almost gone... I'll probably begin to post once a week now... (sorry)
> 
> Please review!
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> ;3 Luv yah
> 
> see you soon...
> 
> For those who live in the areas affected by all those disasters, I hope you are alright and safe...
> 
> PS: Oh, right, my other story is up. So go read it (I managed to keep it shortish) hope you like, please review it!
> 
> PPS: If you feel like sending me requests suggestions or prompts, feel free to reach me by PM or email me: celticdaughterfics (gmail)


	31. Chapter 30

In less than half an hour, the portrait that gave access to the hall opened and a very worried headmistress barged in, followed closely by Madam Pomfrey. Minerva McGonagall only slowed down when she saw the group sitting down, still calming themselves.

"I'm glad you are okay." She said, relive was clear on her stern face. "Fleur told me about the nightmares and screams and said it was related to what occurred on the Malfoy Manor…" She trailed off, looking worriedly at Hermione and Luna. "I understand its personal but I was hoping I could help…"

Hermione nodded, she was about to begin explaining when Fleur talked. "Minerva, eef eet's not too much to ask, I'd like to not 'ear zee story again." The lioness looked at her girlfriend as she said it and held her hand.

"I'm afraid I have to agree with Fleur," Ginny added. They both had pain stamped on their faces. The professor nodded, her shoulders fell a little.

"You can read our reports," Hermione said, after looking at the other two in order to get their permission.

"That should work," Minerva answered.

She felt Fleur shuffle and summon the three pieces of parchment. Hermione organized them so the first was Luna's followed by hers and Harry's. The man had written quite a long report. After handling them to her favorite teacher, she snuggled back into Fleur's embrace. She noticed the others looking to the professor kind of waiting for a reaction. The headmistress looked up from the parchment a moment later, exasperated, a looked to the young blonde. She saw the girl shrugging. It wasn't long the woman in front of them had given up on trying to keep her stern expression. She seemed to be struggling to keep her tears at bay. After finishing the first parchment, she passed it to Madam Pomfrey after making sure they were okay with it. She managed to seat when she was midway through the Ravenclaw's report. The nurse had followed her suit. When she read the name on the top of the next paper, she looked up again. This time she looked at Hermione, at her arm and back at Hermione. The lioness only managed to hold the eye contact. She gasped when she reached the near end of the parchment, the brunette knew she had reached the moment that the mad witch sculpted her arm. Remembering, her arm throbbed and she winced lowly. She looked around to make sure none of the others had heard her as she felt the veela's embrace tighten. The soothing patterns began once more. When she looked at the blonde holding her she saw nothing but care. Well, there were other things but she wasn't really ready to name it. Fleur kissed her and then glanced at her silently asking her if she was okay. She glanced at her arm but nodded nonetheless, hoping the blonde would catch the silent hint. Not that there was something she could do. In a moment, she felt the hurt on her arm relinquish a bit just as the veela softly held her arm. She looked at her girlfriend questioningly. Fleur shook her head.

"Later." She said in a whisper only Hermione could hear.

When the brunette refocused on the teacher, she was halfway through Harry's report and her's was with the nurse. She remembered the madwoman above her once again when the mediwitch mirrored the headmistress' reaction. Once more her forearm ached but before anything else, Fleur reached it and the pain got better. The Headmistress finished reading and immediately went towards Hermione.

"How haven't I seen it, Miss Granger?" She sounded almost offended.

"Concealment Charm, professor." She answered in a small voice.

"Miss Delacour…"

"She didn't know, headmistress. No one did. Except for Luna, Harry, and Ron." She broke the teacher off.

"It was her scar," Harry said.

"And we actually thought it was simply a scar," Luna added.

Madam Pomfrey approached, worried. The bandages were soaked in blood, the red tint was showing already in the more external layer. "We should change those." The animagus gave space so the nurse could work and stood nearby. As soon as the bandages vanished, Hermione could read the word carved on her in a deep red. She heard the room stop breathing and felt a small change in Fleur's demeanor as soon as Pomfrey cleaned the scar and revealed more clearly the word on her forearm. She looked to her girlfriend, she caught sight of her orange orbs fixed on the scar and automatically started caressing her thigh in order to calm her down. The veela looked at her in the eyes and she saw the anger fade with the orange orbs.

"Any idea of why it reopened?" The headmistress was obviously worried.

"My best guess is that one of the courses Bellatrix placed on the blade was something to make it open every time I thought about the moment she carved me." She felt the blonde flinch and kept caressing her.

"That would be my guess too. Now I'm terribly sorry for making you think about this terrible moment but, I'm curious. How did you manage to be here and fight after so many…" She trailed off, "and no medical care?"

"After the battle on the ministry, I figured that there should exist a something to aid the nerves recovery after the cruciatus course. I researched for part of the next year."

"That's a highly advanced potion." The nurse interjected.

"Yes. After I found the specific potion, I started to try to brew it. Professor Slughorn helped me a little. Right after Dumbledore's death, when I realized we would have to flee, I decided to prepare myself so I brewed quite a few potions and stocked them. I was under the impression we would need it. After Dobby got us out of the manor, I blacked out. I was actually lucky Luna was there. The boys were frantic, she managed to make me wake up even suffering from the nerve wrack. When I woke up I immediately asked for the potion so I could really move. Only a couple of weeks of treatment after the recovery was concluded and my stock was almost gone." Hermione fell in silence."As for the wound, I found a spell to keep the traumatic events away from my memory until brought back by the counter-spell. I performed on the four of us…" The headmistress looked at her, impressed, mirroring the nurse. "I had a bunch of books with me… Especially about healing" They nodded.

"When we say we wouldn't be alive if not for her there are still people that don't believe us," Harry said, solemnly. All of them chuckled.

"I'll have a mediwizard from St. Mungo's coming here to look at your forearm. Poppy, could you check them? They must be sore and…"

"The nerves must have remembered the trauma." The nurse completed Minerva and began working. Hermione saw her cast a diagnostic spell first on her and then on Luna. "I believe that there is still some damage from… Well, the torture you endured." She glanced at all of them, apologetically. "Ideally, I'd have you two in the Hospital Wing, but I'm aware Miss Delacour would insist on staying there the whole time as would Miss Weasley and Mr. Potter. So I'm going to entrust Miss Delacour and Miss Weasley with instructions to take care of you two." The two witches nodded. "I'll come back by the end of the weekend to see how you are doing. Mr. Potter, you too have some potions to take given the events." He nodded.

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey." They all said. Then the mediwitch went off to organize the potions and instructions.

"Now, about the sleeping arrangements…" The headmistress started only to interrupted by a worried Ginny.

"With all due respect professor, I think Fleur should…"

"Miss Weasley, first hear what I have to say. You will be impressed to find out what I'll say." The Headmistress said sternly.

"Sorry…"

"I'm sure you will want to stay here until Hermione gets better, Fleur." Hermione felt the blonde agree. She figured McGonagall wasn't talking about the weekend. "You have my permission to do so." The older lioness gave Hermione a small smile. "Given the circumstances, I would like to give you the next week off and allow you to stay at home." They all stayed quiet, being free from classes would be good but they weren't in the mood for celebrations. And they all felt like the headmistress had something else to say. "But I believe Poppy would probably kill me if I allow you to go out of her reach. And as much as I'd like to say I'm unbiased, I'm too much of a Gryffindor and I'd like very much to see the Quidditch team win the House Cup this year." She added with a small smile. "So you four are dismissed from classes but will have to stay at Hogwarts. Your homework will be brought to you. Fleur, I'll make sure to let the staff know why you are here and grant you a free pass through the castle. Now, if you excuse me, I'll reach the hospital about the mediwizard." She smiled at them and left.

When they were alone, they all sighed.

"I think Minerva really likes us." Luna was the first to talk. She did so with a small giggle.

"Right? I think I never heard of something like that being done here. Nor of McGonagall dismissing students from class if they aren't like, dying." Ginny smiled.

They were all laughing at Ginny's observation when Dobby appeared with a low pop.

"Madam Pomfrey asked Dobby to bring this to you." He held out two large boxes and one slightly smaller in a pile. Hermione couldn't the elf's face. In an instant, the boxes were placed on the coffee table after Harry hurried to help him. "Madam Pomfrey said the boxes are labeled and that if you have any doubts to call her through one of the house elves or by patronus." He bowed after they thanked them and vanished with another pop.

* * *

Fleur kissed Hermione's forehead and opened the box labeled with her girlfriend's name. To do so she had to let go of the brunette, something her inner veela wasn't really fond of. Picking the parchment carefully placed above the vials, she quickly got back to her previous position. She saw the brunette yawn as soon as she sat back.

"Sleepy?" She asked, already knowing the answer.

"Kind of. Going through these memories is more draining than I thought it would…" The lioness answered at earnest.

"Just let me go zrough zee instructions zen we go upstairs." She said softly. The brunette nodded.

She noticed they were quite simple. The nurse made sure to be specific and direct. There were three different potions that Hermione would have to take, one to treat the remaining nerve damage, one to ease pain and another to help her with the psychological trauma. Before she could stand, Dobby appeared once again.

"The headmistress sent Dobby to inform you that the mediwitch she requested to examine Hermione's wound will come tomorrow afternoon. She will come through the headmistress fireplace and she will accompany her here." He said, glancing worriedly at Hermione.

"Thank you." The lioness smiled at him. "I'll be alright, Dobby."

"If you need anything, just call Dobby. He will come right away." The elf said, to all of them before disappearing.

"Let's go up," Hermione said, stifling a yawn. Fleur nodded.

"I think I could use a nap too…" Luna said, to Harry and Ginny who nodded. The blonde Ravenclaw stood, being followed by the two Gryffindors. "You don't need to come…" She said in a small voice.

"Uhm, I don't believe you will get rid of us so easily," Harry said, smiling.

Ginny hummed in accordance. "And I have to make sure you take the right potions on the right time, so you are stuck with us."

They all went to their rooms.

After they reached the bedroom, Hermione sat on the bed tiredly.

"So, I thought I was immune to your thrall..." she said, looking Fleur in the eye.

The blonde stood quietly and tried to read the brunette's eyes. She obviously saw tiredness but as she searched deeper she also saw raw curiosity and eagerness (which she immediately connected to the fact that the girl loved to learn) and she chose not to the hint of fear she saw just under all this. She was under the impression the girl was afraid to sleep. Sadness flooded inside her. No one should ever see the horrors that girl had, let alone at that early age. She wanted do protect Hermione at any price. Noticing a brow beginning to arch, she smiled. The lioness really had little patience.

"Sorry, got lost in your eyes..." The sappiness made the brunette blush slightly but she kept her brow arched. Fleur sighed, knowing she had no scape, and placed the box of vials on the table nearby. "Before I explain zis, I need you to remember what you read about mated veelas."

"Your father wrote in the book that mated veelas shared a strong bond and that they are connected not only through their bodies but their full beings, their souls." Fleur nodded. The next part of the explanation was almost a secret kept only to the veelas and sometimes to their human mates. "He didn't say much about that. I guessed it was some sort of a secret."

"Eet ees. At least for common knowledge." She smiled. "But I risk saying zat you are not exactly common..." Fleur moved from where she stood and sat beside Hermione, facing her. "Fully bounded mates, as papa says, are connected." She knew she was repeating what the brunette said and before the girl could complain about it, she continued. "What 'e does not say ees 'ow deep zis connection ees. Zose mates are so deeply connected zat even eet zey are miles away from one another zey can share emotions and sometimes even zoughts." She paused, letting this information sink into Hermione.

"But..."

"What eet 'as to do with what you asked?" the brunette nodded. "After I finish explaining you will understand." or not, she added mentally. She didn't fully understand herself. But maybe Hermione's brilliant mind could help her come with an explanation. "Mostly, zat connection ees deeper when zee mates are both veela. But, in some cases, eet 'appens with veela/wizard mates. Usually, zee connection between veelas ees conscious, zey are able to reach each other as zey will. When zee mate ees 'uman, eet ees usually onesided and commonly caused by distress. Zee veela feels what zee mate does eef zee sentiment ees deep or eef zeir life ees in danger." She waited for a little again, knowing that this much information could take a while to be assimilated. "Eef zee veela in case ees a 'alfbreed or simply isn't fully veela, eet ees even 'arder to 'ave eet. Yesterday, I woke up in zee middle of zee night. I felt my veela stirring, agitated. I instantly knew zat you weren't well." She paused yet again, but this time hoping that the brunette wouldn't freak out.

"But we still haven't... We are not fully bounded." The confusion was clear in her face but Fleur didn't know much more about it.

"Oui. We aren't. Zat's something I might need to ask grandmére about. Well, not long after I woke up Ginny went to fetch me. As I got 'ere, you were... Screaming, again. So I tried to soothe you. You see after zee veela find zeir mate, zey develop a few different treats so zey are able to connect with zee mate in a better way. One of zem ees a soothing thrall. But zat one specifically only works after zee bounding. After waking up zee way I did, I 'oped it would work or at least 'elp. " Hermione slowly nodded. "I'll talk to maman and see eef I can find something out." She added in a small voice and began to stand.

"Fleur?"

"Yes?"

"Where are you going?" She was standing next to the bed, moving from it.

"Write to maman."

"Uhm. It can wait. Appoline can wait." She was looking in her eyes, hazelnut into dark blue. "I need to sleep and I want you by my side." Fleur saw fear clearly flash in her eyes and nodded even before she finished speaking.

"I'll get zee potions, zen." She watched Hermione get under the blankets out of the corner of her eyes while she sorted the vials. She checked the correct order that she should take them and got back to the lioness. Fleur smiled at her girlfriend as she saw the girl yawn. "You need to take zose before you sleep." She said for what they were as the lioness took them, sensing she would like to know.

"Thanks, babe," Hermione said sleepily.

She left the empty vials on the bedside table and lay on her back beside Hermione. The lioness tiredly snuggled closer to her and closed her eyes after kissing her and settled on her shoulder. Fleur stayed awake holding the brunette into her drawing senseless patterns on her back.

The blonde was deeply shocked. She knew the trio and Luna had been in the Malfoy mansion and knew part of the story. All the order members knew as Snape reported it to them. She was sure they had some kind of trauma after that time she arrived at the living room and they were all slightly in shock. But she never imagined that the brunette had been carved. She winced at the mere thought of the word and upon imagining the mad witch straddling her in order to carve her arm. She would gladly revive that crazy bitch in order to kill her again, if possible. Fleur had her eyes fixed on the ceiling, trying to calm herself. Her right arm carefully near Hermione's wounded arm (which lay on her stomach, the brunette holding her closer lightly) and caressing it. She focused on the lioness' calm breathing and finally managed to calm herself. Moving carefully, she faced her so she could hold her even closer. She drifted asleep a few minutes later, Hermione's heartbeat soothing her as a lullaby.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey! What did you think? Soft Fleur, an almost broken Hermione... Seriously, I love this couple!
> 
> So, my pre-written chapters are gone... I'll post once a week now... (sorry)
> 
> Please comment and leave kudos
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> ;3 Luv yah
> 
> see you soon...
> 
> For those who live in the areas affected by all those disasters, I hope you are alright and safe...
> 
> PS: Oh, right, my other story is up. So go read it (I managed to keep it shortish) hope you like, please comment and leave kudos in it!
> 
> PPS: If you feel like sending me requests suggestions or prompts, feel free to reach me by PM or email me: celticdaughterfics (gmail)


	32. Chapter 31

Fleur didn't really sleep a lot, an hour later she was awake, watching the brave witch in her sleep and thanking Merlin she hadn't been disturbed by another nightmare. Hermione looked peaceful in her arms and she wasn't able to refrain herself from kissing the younger woman's forehead. She held the lioness closer to her and swore once again that she would find every single person involved and throw them in Azkaban to rotten. She was still lost in thoughts when Hermione began to stir.

"Hey…" Hermione murmured to her without opening her eyes, startling her a bit.

She looked down, into the brunette's eyes (now lazily open) and smiled. "'ey, sleepy 'ead…"

"Are you awake for long?" the lioness asked after kissing her softly, she simply shook her head. "What were you thinking about? You were quite tense…"

"Sorry, I just realized 'ow close I came to never finding you…" Her voice cracked a little, finding her had been the biggest blessing she could have wished. Not every veela was able to find their mate, she had always been aware of it.

"I'm here, babe. Don't think about it." Hermione embraced her, trying to reassure the blonde.

"Sorry, I couldn't 'elp myself from zinking about eet."

"Shh…" They were both crying now. Hermione for seeing how distressed Fleur was and Fleur in relief, for having the brunette in her arms.

"I swear I'll find zem all." She stated in a small voice.

* * *

"I know, Fleur." Hermione really knew she would. They remained still, holding each other to reassure themselves until Hermione's stomach growled. They chuckled.

"Someone ees 'ungry…" Fleur stomach in response.

"Yep, both of us." Looking at the clock, Hermione noticed it was just about dinner time. "Let's get down, see if we can get something to eat."

As they opened the door, they heard the other one open.

"…come on. You know Ginny can't stay hungry for long. She will end up eating us." Luna said with a light voice to the couple inside while stepping out of the room. "I don't think you will enjoy it in the way I meant, Harry!" Her voice still carried a bit of sorrow but was certainly closer to her normal tone. "Oh, hi! How did you sleep?" She asked when she saw Hermione and Fleur laughing at what she had said.

"Alright…" the brunette answered and hugged the Ravenclaw. "You?"

"Same."

Hermione looked into the other room to see Ginny rolling on the bed, laughing, and Harry walking to the door, slightly embarrassed. He smiled at her and Fleur and began to descend the stairs to avoid any other sex-related joke that would make him even more embarrassed.

"Awn, love! Don't run away from me!" Ginny shouted from the bed as soon as he stepped out of the room.

"Your stomach is being so loud that I'm afraid Lun is right and you will end up eating us all if you don't have dinner soon!" Harry answered from downstairs.

Hermione and Fleur followed Luna down, as soon as they reached the first floor Dobby appeared.

"Dobby heard you and came to see how you are doing and if you want dinner already."

"We are quite better than earlier, Dobby. Thank you for asking…" Luna answered, sitting near Harry in one of the couches.

"And we would love to have dinner…" Harry added, smiling at the Ravenclaw and then to the elf. Dobby disappeared with a soft pop and came back a few second later with the dinner for the five of them. Ginny reached the first floor as the table filled itself with food.

"Always on time…" Hermione teased. Ginny simply poked out her tongue at her. "Such a grown up." Hermione laughed.

The light atmosphere remained in the room thanks to the teasing. Hermione noticed they were all trying to keep each other happy, joking about their demeanor. They were all completely aware of what was happening.

After some time, the room fell into a somber silence. Hermione was lost in her own thoughts while trying to reassure the veela beside her, who was obviously still in deep distraught. Ginny, Luna, and Harry were cuddled up in their usual couch, apparently reassuring each other. They all startled when the portrait spoke into the room, breaking the silence.

"Miss Moire is asking for permission to enter." They exchanged relieved glances as to confirm it was ok for her to come in and Hermione voiced their clearance. In no time, the youngest Gryffindor entered the room looking quite concerned. Her expression turned into a small smile when she saw everyone smiling at her.

"'ello, Moire! To what do we owe zee 'onor?" Fleur asked with a small smile.

"I didn't see any of you the whole day and when I asked the other seventh years they had no idea of where you were… So I was a little worried… I figured I could come here…"

"Sure, Moire. I'm sorry we worried you. We had a tough night and had some problems and Professor McGonagall dismissed us from classes." Hermione explained, taking care not to give any more detail then what she thought would calm the younger girl.

"So you are ok? You seem quite sad…" Her eyes flicked between the five of them but lingered on Hermione and Fleur.

"We are still tired. But if you want you can cuddle with us until you have to go to bed." Hermione offered, after confirming with the others if it was okay.

"If it's not a problem…" Hermione shook her head and made space so the girl could cuddle into her while she leaned her head on Fleur's lap.

They asked about Moire's day wanting to fill the silence that would inevitably fall as soon as the girl stopped talking. Shortly after the girl fell asleep cuddling with Hermione. The low snores of the girl easing the tension of the silence. They were all smiling, admiring her peacefulness. That was when McGonagall's patronus came into view, letting them know that she was about to pay them a visit. Without the need of an answer, the portrait that guarded the external access opened, revealing the headmistress.

"I hope I'm not interrupting you." The Headmistress began, clearly not noticing the first year sleeping by Hermione. As the older woman stepped near them she took notice of the girl who, by the sound of the stern professor's voice, had shot awake. "What are you doing here, Miss Woods?" She added with a slightly alarmed voice.

"She came to check on us as we seemingly have gone missing," Hermione explained with an amused voice before the youngster could bring herself to answer.

"I see."

"I'm going, I'm sorry I slept…" The girl said in a small voice.

"It's not a problem, Moire. Goodnight," Hermione answered, being followed by the rest of the occupants of the room. When the portrait closed after the girl, she turned to her favorite professor.

"I forgot to issue one thing and I hope we can discuss it quickly." McGonagall began, "If I recall correctly, you scheduled the next DA gathering to tomorrow. And I hope you realize that going through with that plan goes against Poppy's instructions." They all nodded. "I was hoping we are able to come up with a plan to prevent the wizarding world from storming into the school in concern because two-thirds of the Golden Trio is under war trauma." Hermione nodded, knowing they would have to come up with an excuse good enough to keep the whole school from gossip. "Now, what do you suggest?" She asked as she sat down, worriedly glancing the five of them.

"I guess we could say Fleur had a problem and won't be able to come…" Hermione began to brainstorm out loud.

"Oui, as zee school regulation for clubs doesn't allow a club meeting without zee older teacher, it could be a good option."

"It won't really justify Fleur's presence in school during the week," Luna argued. "We need something that can possibly cover it."

Everyone nodded, and the room fell silent. None of them really able to come up with a sound plan.

"I'll call Poppy, maybe we can discuss with her your resting terms." The headmistress conjured a patronus and sent him to the healer. In no more then half an hour, the head healer entered the room.

"How can I help, Minerva?" She asked as she sat in the only empty armchair left.

"Poppy, we can't seem to find a sound excuse for all of them to cancel the meeting of the DA…"

"I see, what is your plan for the meeting?" Hermione began to explain what they had been planning on doing, while the others simply kept their silence. Fleur held her lightly, Hermione could feel some sort of pride emanating from her. Hermione leaned further into her without a second thought after she finished speaking. "As long as you keep this plan, I don't see a reason to keep you from the meeting. But I must say the three of you are not to demonstrate any spell nor do anything other than taking notes and observe." She eyed the group.

"I'll make sure zey follow your instructions."

"As will I," Ginny added, quickly.

"If that's everything," The healer eyed the headmistress (who nodded). "I must go." And she was gone.

"Now," The former head of Gryffindor spoke after a beat. "As to Miss Delacour's excuse to being in school…" The woman smiled. "After a long discussion with Professor Ward and a rather short talk with 'Dora, we come to the agreement that it would be of the school's best interest to have an Auror this week to take part in fifth and seventh year's DADA classes in order to explain and demonstrate the Law Enforcement work." She said with a small smile. "It will obviously require that you present your self officially to the school. I'd say, tomorrow morning." Fleur nodded. Hermione felt her gaze falling on her and felt her worry.

"Babe, it's one class each day. I'll use the time to study. And you will know if there is something wrong." Hermione reassured her in a small voice so only she would hear. Fleur nodded and kissed her head.

"About your discharge for the week,"

"I doubt anyone would ask something about it…" Hermione said thoughtfully.

"Yes, but if someone does, simply say you were requested to report about the war and I dismissed you to do so. The fewer lies the better." The four students nodded. Thankfully they were all known to be important during the war, no one would give it a second thought. "Goodnight, then. I'll make the announcement tomorrow at lunch. Fleur, you can have your meals with Hermione at the Gryffindor's table, as your relationship is far from a secret in the school." McGonagall added before going through the portrait hole. Hermione felt her face warm and could swear she saw a smirk on the headmistress' face.

"Am I dreaming or I really saw McGonagall smirking?" Harry asked, half laughing.

"She was totally smirking." Ginny laughed, "She made them both blush. A veela blush! WOW!"

Hermione hid her face on Fleur stomach which made the latter hold her breath a little. This exchange simply made the other three laugh harder.

"I'm going to sleep." Hermione stood, feigning annoyance and pulling Fleur with her.

"Right, sleep!" Ginny howled from the common room as both of them went up the stairs.

"Shut it, Ginny!" Hermione shouted back, laughing a little.

They went through their nightly routine and into bed, Fleur held Hermione closely.

"I'll write to Grandmére tomorrow morning to ask 'er about zee connection," Fleur said in a whisper.

Hermione nodded and sank her head into the blonde's neck, her body half over the veela. "All I can think at the moment is: I'll have my girlfriend with me for a whole week."

"Uhm…"

"I might get spoiled…"

"Ditto." They both smiled.

The following morning got all of them gathered in the common room fairly early. The breakfast had been brought by Dobby. Hermione had the impression that the house elf might have asked the headmistress to take care of them personally given he was always quick to answer to any of their calls. She wasn't fond of this idea but at least she knew he was being paid. Every time she asked him to deliver her letters to Fleur she made sure to offer him a payment for it. It was currently mid-morning and Dobby had just delivered their favorite hot beverages, all of them thanked him aloud in the hope he would hear.

"Mon Ange," Fleur whispered in her ear, bringing her back to reality. "I zink I'll write Grandmére now. Zee sooner I send it, zee sooner we 'ave our answer."

Hermione simply nodded and got up. She had no wish to part from the veela and was quite sure the woman actually had the same thing in mind. "We have some things to figure out with Fleur's family, I guess we meet you down here in about two hours so we can go have lunch…"

"Sure…" Ginny answered with a smirk plastered on her face, making Hermione roll her eyes.

Hermione ignored her best friend's snickering and basically dragged Fleur to their room, the latter trying to hold back an amused smile at the brunette's annoyance.

* * *

As the door swung closed, Fleur wrapped her arms around her girlfriend's waist.

"Why are you letting Ginny get under your skin?" She asked. Hermione let out a sigh.

"I don't know." She heard the brunette take a deep breath. "I guess I'm just afraid you will get tired of waiting soon and all her jokes are making it worse… It's not that I don't want, I do. It's just…"

"Eet's something with a 'uge importance for me and you don't want to risk being wrong and 'urting me. And eet's a rather large step for both of us." Fleur completed what the younger woman was saying as she went silent. Hermione nodded, looking into her eyes. "I know, 'ermione. I understand. I want you to understand I won't ever get tired of waiting, simply because I know eet ees worth eet." She smiled upon seeing brown eyes lighten up at her words.

"I'm sorry"

"Don't apologize for what you feel, mon Ange."

They stood there, holding each other silently.

"I must say I 'ave been afraid you will grow tired of me…" She added with a small voice as if she was afraid to say it too loud and it turned out to be true. Hermione's head shot upwards upon hearing the confession.

"That," She paused to make sure Fleur was looking at her. "Is absolutely impossible." She smiled. Fleur couldn't help but hold her close and let their proximity soothe them both away from their fears.

The blonde held back the three words that were floating around her mind, she was sure it was not the moment. She felt a pang of annoyance from her veela and sighed.

"What is it, babe?" Hermione looked concerned. "Are you annoyed with something?"

"You…" Fleur was absolutely awestruck. "You sensed what I felt?"

Hermione nodded and cocked her head clearly trying to make sense of herself. "Yes. I think since yesterday… I kind of knew when you were upset or worried…"

"Zat's something we need to add on zee letter," Fleur said silently.

"It's not common, right? Even with mated couples."

"No, eet's not. At least from what I remember reading."

They sat, close to each other, as Fleur wrote to her grandmother. It ended up being a long letter as they both wanted to explain everything that happened. By the time she finished writing and placed it in an envelope, they were due to go down meet the others. Hermione called Dobby, knowing Fleur was eager to get the answer and that they would have no time to send it before the end of the day. The house-elf gladly accepted the request, even with Fleur saying it would be for the better to send it trough Yuna, as she knew where to go. He left quickly, smiling. The two woman met their friends and went to the Great Hall after changing into their "teaching" clothes. The room was yet to be filled by everyone but all the teachers and staff were already here. A notice had been put in the common rooms to let the student body know that they were all to be at the Great Hall early for lunch because the Headmistress had an announcement. Fleur saw all the staff nod at her and give her small smiles and felt an urge of uneasiness coming from Hermione. She caught the worried glance McGonagall sent towards the brunette. Fleur tightened her grip on her Gryffindor's hand to reassure her. She figured the former head of house wouldn't say more than what the rest of the staff needed to know, therefore she was sure the witch hadn't talked about the awful amount of torture Luna and Hermione went through. The simple thought of their moment in the mansion made her release a shaky breath. It was Hermione's turn to tighten her grip. The group sat at the Gryffindor table, not on their usual spot but close to the staff table as Fleur would probably have to present herself at the front. Soon, the whole student body flooded through the doors.

"Good afternoon!" McGonagall began, effortlessly making the hall go silent. "I trust you all noticed we have a guest today." An agreement noise was heard. "Well, I managed to get Fleur Delacour out of her current job in the Ministry for a week. This week marks a new policy in school. Until the end of April, we will be receiving professionals in different years to help you decide your intended professions. Miss Delacour is here to represent the Law Enforcement department, therefore she will be attending the DADA lessons for fifth and seventh years. I expect you to warmly welcome her to our school once more." She sat and the food appeared in front of them.

Fleur felt a lot of eyes on her. She was used to it, used to the attention that involved being a veela. She sighed. Being around people that had already found their loved ones was a blessing, even those who didn't, had developed some kind of resistance to her thrall so she was rarely bothered by so many blurred eyes. She couldn't really use her thrall to avoid unwanted attention at the moment so she fought herself to maintain it as subtle as possible. She heard a low huff from her side and felt her girlfriend get slightly closer to her. Looking at her, she saw the younger woman hold her fork with her left hand and hold her waist with her right arm.

"You know zey are already aware I'm taken, right?" She whispered in her ear with an amused voice. Her heart swelled in her chest.

"Yes, but some might need a reminder." The lioness answered, her voice laced with annoyance.

"Je suis à toi pour toujours. Don't worry about zem." (I'm yours forever) She saw Hermione smile at the use of French. She had been studying the language ever since they began dating and had obviously understood what she had said. Fleur kissed her cheek softly and smiled at her.

"Moi aussi bébé" (Me too, baby) The lioness said in a perfect accent, taking Fleur by surprise. She looked at Hermione with wide eyes, the brunette smirking. Not being capable of holding herself, she kissed her sweetly. Gasps and wolf whistles erupted all around the room. There were even some people cheering. Laughing, they pulled back.

"I knew it would work," Hermione added, whispering in her ear. She snickered.

"Eet's not always zat I'm able to 'ear my girlfriend speaking in my mozer language, ma belle." She answered, amused. Casting an apologetic smile at the headmistress, who quickly glared at them. She was sure she saw a small smile on lips as she moved her attention back to her plate.

"What was that about?" Ginny asked, laughing.

"Unwanted attention," Luna answered, smiling. "Many of the students here are susceptible to Fleur's thrall… 'Mione got… Territorial." Hermione blushed deeply. Fleur smiled and kissed her head. "And she spoke French." Ginny was now fully laughing, Harry was smiling at his friends and Hermione hid her face on Fleur's side.

"At least now we can be certain no one will try their way with Fleur!" Ginny exclaimed, Harry and Luna nodding. "Or Hermione, for that matter." Fleur raised a brow at it, her own jealousy rising. She felt Hermione tug at her hand and turned to face her. The lioness placed a quick kiss on her lips as to make it clear that she shouldn't worry.

"Some of the students have a thing for 'Mione, as I heard…" Harry added. "There has been a rumor that you two were together, thanks to the DA meeting. But with that sweet demonstration of yours, it's more than confirmed." He smiled at Fleur. "The stories about your duel were the first to travel around here."

"You two are the hot topic of all gossip." Ginny beamed. "I wouldn't worry. You are either respected or feared here. No one will try anything."

"And I couldn't be less interested," Hermione added with a whisper, so only she could hear. The lioness then made her look her in the eyes, to make sure she had understood. She felt the quick change in her eyes. Her veela leaving it clear that she got the message. The creature had been basically relentless in jealousy ever since Ginny hinted that Hermione would possibly get hit by someone. Thinking about it, Fleur felt like an idiot. Of course, the lioness would have admirers. She was simply gorgeous, brilliant and kind… Hermione's words were soothing anyway.

After lunch, they went directly to the vanishing room and waited for everyone to arrive. The meeting went on smoothly, with Hermione, Luna, and Harry following the instructions of Madam Pomfrey and Ginny and Fleur the only active ones. At the end, a few students went to talk to them, mostly to thank them for the experience. They were back in the common room right after dinner. In no time they were all in their rooms, getting ready to sleep. Luna had insisted that she would be able to sleep on her own that night but Ginny had been insistent saying that there was no logic in what Luna was saying. So Ginny basically dragged Luna to their room, slightly annoyed, being followed closely by Harry who didn't seem any different from Ginny. Fleur decided to observe the trio more closely.

Any thoughts she could possibly have in her mind as she entered the room with Hermione were long forgotten, the lioness had attached their lips as soon as their door closed.

"Missed you." She said, smiling.

"You spent zee day with me, ma belle."

"But you were far away for most of the afternoon." Hermione countered, pouting slightly. "And as I have already stated, you look great in my shirt, looking all official…" Fleur had borrowed a shirt from Hermione, not wanting to go home to get her own. Hermione offered her the exact same from the previous Saturday.

"Uhm…" Fleur held the lioness closer and kissed her neck softly.

"And…" Hermione had to hold back a loud moan and closed her eyes. "I wanted to make sure you understood that you are mine." She said in a low voice, her mouth near Fleur's ear and the latter was yet to detach her lips from the lioness neck. When she opened her eyes, she was met with orange ones.

"Oh, I do know I'm yours, mon Ange. I do know…" Fleur's voice was laced with lust, her eyes were in deep orange.

"Good." Hermione smiled and closed the gap between their lips once more. They pulled back panting, both knowing that if they kept going, they would go further then they both wanted to. They exchanged their thoughts wordlessly, their eyes understanding each other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Sorry! It took too long to post this one. I planned on having one chapter already written when I posted this one and it took me forever to write it. Because of life. I really hope you liked it! I'll probably write a chapter on Luna's POV, tell me what you guys think of it!
> 
> They are too sweet!
> 
> Please comment and leave kudos!
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> ;3 Luv yah
> 
> see you soon...
> 
> For those who live in the areas affected by all those disasters, I hope you are alright and safe...
> 
> PS: Oh, right, my other story is up. So go read it (I managed to keep it shortish) hope you like, please review it!
> 
> PPS: If you feel like sending me requests suggestions or prompts, feel free to reach me by PM or email me: celticdaughterfics (gmail)


	33. Chapter 32

They woke up startled, at loud thumps on their door. Groaning, Fleur got up and answered the door. Hermione had simply hidden her face in the pillow.

"Oh! I did wake you up… Sorry…" Harry smiled apologetically. "It's just that we are going to the Great Hall, have breakfast… I thought you were already awake. Sorry…"

"I TOLD YOU, HARRY!" Fleur heard Ginny from downstairs.

"Not a problem. Go ahead, we'll be zere soon. Good morning…" She answered. When she closed the door, she heard Hermione groan and extend her hand to her, in a motion to make her get back to bed. She went to the brunette's side of the bed, "Mon Ange, I'm sure you are 'ungry and I'm positively starving."

The lioness moved her head so she could look to Fleur, "Not hungry." at the same time her stomach growled.

"Sure… Come on, sleep head or I'll go without you." She laughed.

Hermione quickly tackled her on the floor, Fleur was actually surprised with her quick reaction. "You are not leaving without me," Hermione growled a little, making Fleur laugh and hold the younger girl by the hips.

"Of course not, Jealous Girl." The brunette simply eyed her and kissed her.

"Morning, babe!" She kissed the veela passionately and chucked as she saw amber eyes looking back to her after pulling back.

"Bonjour, ma Belle…" Fleur answered in a low voice.

After changing for the day, she gave Hermione her potions and they headed to the Great Hall. The day was quite a bit chili so Hermione wore a light jacket (that luckily covered the bandages on her left arm). The mail came and left an envelope in front of Ginny, who frowned and quickly opened it.

"We are lucky she didn't send us a howler." She grimaced after reading, looking pretty pale. "Mom." She added as she saw the confusion on the others face. Harry's eyebrows shot up and he reached for the letter in Ginny's hands. "Apparently she read Ron's report. After he went home with Bill, in obvious distress, yesterday."

Harry handled the letter to Hermione, looking down. Luna had read it with him.

 

> _How DARE you not tell me?!_
> 
> _You are ALL absolutely lucky I remembered you would receive this letter in the middle of the school! I almost sent you a howler!_
> 
> _Now, I hope you are all taken care of. If something else happens, make sure to reach me. I'll visit you later tomorrow (Sunday), to see how you are._
> 
> _Ginevra Weasley, you better take care of Harry._
> 
> _Fleur, darling, take care of Hermione, she is family!_
> 
> _You all better look after Luna, she too is family._
> 
> _See you soon,_
> 
> _Mom._

Fleur took notice that the content of the letter wasn't the problem, reading it was. She could picture a very angry Molly yelling at them while reading the first lines. After the first shock was down, she resumed eating and the other four did too.

"What are today's plans?" She asked as they finished eating.

"I don't know." Hermione was the first to answer. "My plan was sleeping until late but my beautiful girlfriend woke me up." Fleur rolled her eyes.

"Not my fault. 'arry woke me up and I got 'ungry." Fleur added. "And you were 'ungry too." she pouted slightly.

"Sorry about that." Harry said, "again…"

"We could spend the day out. It will start snowing in a few weeks and it's not too cold yet…" Luna suggested. They all smiled at her and agreed.

As they got up, Hermione leaned to kiss Fleur's cheek and smiled. "How do you handle it?" she asked in a whisper.

"I've been dealing with eet for most of my life, I imagine I just got used to eet." She answered, knowing the woman had been annoyed with the attention directed to her by the rest of the students. "And I only care to 'ave your attention, 'ermione." She smiled, knowing she would calm the jealous in the other's head. "Eet will stop, you know? After we mate." She added with a whisper so only her girlfriend would hear.

"Oh…"

She smiled and kissed her on the lips. "And don't zink I didn't see zee stares you got too." She added, smiling and knowing the other woman had no idea of how many stares she too received.

"I didn't…"

"Yes, you did!" Ginny chimed in. "From both girls and boys. And just as many as Harry always receives." She laughed. "I think they all envy us, Fleur."

"Zey should. Zey are awesome!" Fleur laughed, both (Hermione and Harry) were completely dumbfounded. "You two really don't see eet, right? You both are basically two of zee most desired people 'ere"

"Ugh…" Hermione managed to say, after receiving a peck on the cheek.

They walked to the lake in a comfortable silence. Fleur noticed Luna smiling as if knowing something none of them knew but said nothing.

Spending the morning outside was truly a good idea, they were all in a great mood when lunch time came. After eating, they went to the common room to wait for the visit from the healer and from Molly.

* * *

Hermione and Fleur sat on their usual couch in the living room. Her nerves were starting to act, not knowing who would be the healer nor what she would say. She felt a wave of soothing thrall invade her and smiled at Fleur, thanking her silently.

"Zey must be 'ere anytime."

As on cue, a patronus tabby cat appeared and McGonagall's voice resonated in the room. "The healer arrived, we will be there soon."

Still no clue on who's the healer. Not much later, they heard a quick knock and the painting-door swung open giving way to their stern headmistress and a well-known platinum witch, who held everyone in the room (except for McGonagall) in shock. Hermione felt Fleur straighten herself beside her, along with a clear wave of awareness coming from her. The veela's grip on her tightened.

"Good afternoon." The headmistress said and they all answered in small voices, still surprised by the presence of the Slytherin. One look towards the older blonde and Hermione recognized the apprehension stamped on her face, she was looking towards her general direction but not exactly at her. The woman was looking directly at Fleur, who was still in defensive stance. The room fell quiet as the blondes starred at each other.

"Narcissa," Ginny said, breaking the tense silence and making everyone look at her.

Being cut out of her almost scared haze, the older blonde looked at the others in the room, "Ginny, Harry, Luna," she looked almost surprised at the sight of the two pureblood witches. "Hermione… A pleasure to meet you, despite the awful setting. I feel I must apologize once again for my part on the events that led to the reason I understand I'm here today." She returned her attention to Fleur as she finished speaking, "Miss Delacour, delighted to meet you. I'm afraid I only met your partner while I've been called to testify."

Before the veela could respond, Hermione doubled her efforts to try and calm her girlfriend down. She knew she was still shaken due to what happened at the mansion. She heard the Fleur take a deep breath.

"Hello, Miss Black. I understand you managed to get rid of…"

"Yes, I divorced as soon as possible. Given his involvement with the Dark Lord and Harry's testimony I got rid of him once and for all." Narcissa interrupted her, clearly not wanting to talk about the monster that her ex-husband was. "I hope you find him… He deserves to be severely punished."

Hermione almost smiled at it, the woman in front of her always knew what to say. She felt Fleur relax a little and loosen her grip on her sightly.

"I didn't know you were a med-witch…" Harry said, still quite surprised.

"Lucius made sure I studied healing, he… wanted me to fix his play-toys." Her voice somber, heavy with sorrow. She looked at Ginny. "I reached St. Mungu's as soon as I was cleared by the Ministry to see if I could be of any help. After a long month of tests, I was admitted as a resident. When my supervisor said he received mail from the headmistress regarding Hermione and a severe wound from the war, I immediately offered to come." She eyed Hermione, worriedly. The brunette read in her eyes the unspoken question and nodded. "I'm sorry." She added. Hermione sat straighter and began to remove the blood-stained bandages when she felt the Slytherin's hand stop her. "Let me. I know it must hurt, my sister was crazy enough to rejoice over other's people suffering and would be sure to make it at least sore." She placed the purse she was carrying over the coffee table and kneeled in front of Hermione. Narcissa started to undress the wound carefully and winced as she saw the word carved on her arm and how swollen it was. She sighed and informed both, Hermione and Fleur (who was hovering, them to see what was happening) that she would perform some diagnostic charms to see if she could identify what curses the mad witch used. After three casted spells she shook her head and looked at Hermione. "The knife Bella used was covered with plenty of spells and potions, apparently. Most of them were created by her. I'll search the mansion to find the blade. With it, I'll be able to develop the right counter-spells and potions. I'm sorry I can't do much now… What I'm sure right now is that what keeps the wound open for longer than it normally would is a family potion. As I've known my sister since, well, forever, I guessed she had used it and brought the antidote."

She looked up, making Hermione follow her gaze. Fleur was currently nervously anger, the brunette caught her eye and understood the other woman didn't trust the Slytherin. She squeezed the veela's hand. Hermione had decided to trust the older blonde after the first gathering of the Blacks, one Harry presented himself as the head of the family and explained what had happened when the family members stared at each other in shock. Hermione was actually aware of Narcissa's divorce and the fact that Andromeda was accepted back into the family but the older woman had simply no idea about her. Narcissa had been as much welcoming as her sister and it left Hermione in a small shock. She had been warming up to Draco since then too despite the awful story between them.

Hermione felt Fleur calm down, she was sure the blonde understood she trusted the woman in front of her and accepted. "If you say it will work…" She said to Narcissa.

The blond woman nodded and moved to get the flask in her purse. "I'll need something to collect the potion that will fall out of your arm…" Dobby appeared quickly after with a basin. The med-witch smiled at him and thanked. She poured the silver liquid over Hermione's arm, slowly. The brunette watched closely as each carved letter absorbed some of the potion and the raw wound quickly become a scar. "I'll leave some of it with you, just in case. I hope you won't need it. I'll ask Draco to start searching the house today, the sooner we find the blade, the better."

"I'll ask Bill to send some Aurors to 'elp" Fleur said, quietly.

"Thank you." Narcissa looked at Hermione once again, "I believe both potions are written on one of the books you and Harry have at your flat. The family had the habit of writing every spell or potion created by them so there's a collection of books holding all the information. Here is a copy of all the information I have about the potions and the antidote. My mother's books held much less information than the ones held by the Head."

Fleur extended a hand to help the older blonde stand. "Zank you for zee 'elp."

"Not a problem." Narcissa looked at the others and smiled a little. "Luna…"

"I know you had no part in what happened to me, Cissy…" The younger blonde smiled, the usage of the nickname clearly left the Slytherin dumbstruck. "You have nothing to be forgiven."

"I'd like to apologize anyway. I could have helped you. At least relief you from the aftershocks. You really are strong, Luna. I've seen older wizards go insane with much less. I admire you. You mind if I check on you too? It's long due. I should have offered my help earlier…"

"Go ahead…"

Once again, the witch performed a series diagnostic spells. Nodding as she registered the results, she looked at Luna, then Hermione, then Fleur. "What Madam Pomfrey gave to them?" She asked directly to Fleur. The veela explained what Hermione was taking and then Ginny did the same, about Luna. Nodding, she turned to the headmistress (McGonagall had taken a seat as she saw Hermione scarred arm), "I have a few suggestions about their treatment and I'd like to discuss it with her…"

"Sure." The stern professor glanced at Hermione worriedly. "Good afternoon to all of you."

Ginny startled as the stern Gryffindor opened the door to accompany the Slytherin to the hospital wing. "Professor, Mom…"

"I'm aware, Miss Weasley. I asked Dobby to arrange anything you need to receive her. I'd have asked him to arrange dinner, but I'm certain Molly is bringing it with her." McGonagall smiled at them then closed the door.

About an hour later, the fireplace lighted up in green flames and the redhead matriarch stepped into the room. She took her surroundings after cleaning the soot from her clothes with a quick spell. They were comfortably sat in their usual seats, Ginny, Luna, and Harry were quietly chatting, Luna laying on her back, her head over Ginny's lap and her feet over Harry's legs. The other two women were reading, Hermione had her head resting on Fleur's thighs and the blonde was stroking her head. The noise of the fire made them look towards the fireplace, knowing who had come in.

Hermione realized only then that she had never really talked to the older witch in front of them about her relationship. She froze on spot. What if her reaction was close to Ron's? She saw the Weasley's matriarch as a mother, the redhead family was her magical family. She was certain she wouldn't feel that great if the elder woman were to reject her, or her relationship with Fleur. She felt Fleur's hand on her shoulder and the now known soothing thrall. It all happened quickly, basically in less than ten seconds. Mrs. Weasley looked around and smiled at them.

"Mom!" Ginny stood, Luna had sat when she heard the matriarch arrive.

The redhead elder smiled at her daughter, hugged her and moved so she could hug the others. When she held Hermione, they shared a stare. The lioness looked down but felt herself being engulfed in one of the tightest embraces she ever received from the older woman.

"I…" She began quietly.

"Oh, dear, I knew the minute I saw you two together on that party after she returned from France. Even before." Molly interrupted her, equally quietly. She stepped out of the embrace and held Hermione's face lightly. "I want you to be happy. I can assume from your reaction to seeing me that my younger was in no way as understanding as I hoped he would be." Hermione nodded, holding back the sorrow she felt when she thought about Ron's reaction. "He will come around. Ronald is thick minded but would be a straight idiot if he ended his friendship with you, dear. That is if you still want to be friends with him. I wouldn't blame you."

* * *

Fleur was close enough to hear the whispered conversation, she knew Hermione had no problem with her hearing. What she wasn't expecting was to hear about Ron's reaction, nor the crushing sensation of sorrow invading her. She yearned to comfort the young witch but held herself in place, watching Molly talk to her, she knew the older witch was something like a second mother to her girlfriend. She felt it herself. Molly had such a big heart that she basically adopted her children's closest friends. The woman took care of her even after she and Bill had broken up. Even after she promised it was not his fault, but hers. She was the last one to receive the warm embrace from the elder. After giving her a tight hug, she motioned for Hermione to get closer. Placing a hand on their cheeks, she smiled warmly.

"Take care of each other," then she looked at Hermione, "ignore the prat I have for a son. Only a blind person can't see how perfect you are for each other." She, then, hugged them both. "And the rest of the family sends their regards."

Fleur felt herself smiling, she too was afraid of Molly's reaction. She had come to deeply respect the redhead.

"Zanks, Molly…"

"Sure!" She moved away, picking up the bag she had brought with her. "Now, I believe a dinner is in order!" She began to take out some carefully wrapped dishes from the bag and place them on the table. Dobby was called and asked to bring plates and cutlery. They were soon sat, eating the comfort food the redhead mother had carefully cooked. The silence that took place after all the dishes were basically licked clean was thick. Dobby quickly appeared and took everything to wash, promising Molly her platters would be at the borrow when she arrived there (The redhead tried to keep him from doing it, but he quickly vanished before she could really say anything).

"Mom…" Ginny was the first to talk, knowing it would be better (or hoping so).

"Ginevra Molly Weasley!" The older woman snapped. Hearing her full name made the younger Gryffindor visibly tremble. "How come I only got to know about all that now? You wrote that reports on Tuesday for Merlin's sake!"

"I'm sorry, Mrs. Weasley…" Hermione began, in a small voice

"No, Hermione, dear. It's not your fault. Your mind was in another place. But certainly, my daughter could have at least sent me a note, saying you were being taken care." Molly calmed down as soon as she saw how broken Hermione seemed to be.

"Molly," Fleur began, knowing Ginny wouldn't counter her mother. "Ginny 'ave been taking care of both, 'arry and Luna. Zee night zey 'ad nightmares she went to my apart so I could know something was happening and come to 'ermione. She 'as been doing a lot, eet's understandable that she forgot to inform you. We are all sorry for not telling you."

The older redhead sighed and nodded as she finished talking. "You're right, Fleur. Obviously. I'm not sorry for my reaction, though. You are all family, I worry about you."

"That's understandable…" Luna said.

"Now, how are you? Has anyone seen you?" Molly seemed to have calmed down and now divided her worried attention to the three affected.

"Madam Pomfrey has seen us Friday and gave us a few potions to take. And earlier a Mungu's med-witch came to examine my… wound." The brunette motioned to her arm. As it was now closed, it was free of bandages. Molly shuddered at the sight of the carved word. Fleur trained her eyes on Hermione's face, away from the word. "I'm getting better." She stated. Luna and Harry made agreeing noises.

"Good to know… Do I know the med-witch?" As Hermione moved to nod, there was a loud knock and three witches came in.

"Good evening, Molly." The headmistress said as soon as she saw the redhead.

"Hello, Minerva! Poppy, I'm sure you thought these two wouldn't need your services this year…" Molly smiled.

"Certainly they have been away from the hospital wing for longer than usual!"

"Narcissa! What are you doing here? I assumed Draco hadn't come back to school…" Molly looked a little shocked.

"She is the St. Mungu's med-witch," Hermione informed. Fleur observed the stunned elder Weasley.

"But…"

"Unfortunately, yes. And me being her sister makes me the best person to deal with what she has done." The blonde held her head high as if waiting for a bad response from Molly. It didn't come.

"You are not her. I couldn't agree more. Thank you for helping them." To everyone's surprise, she walked to the blonde witch and hugged her. "I assume you came to talk to them. I'm going."

"Molly, you can stay. It will take but a minute."

"No, I was on my way anyway. Ronald is home, dealing with the same…" She quickly said goodbye, after making them promise to write and inform her how they were dealing with everything. The med-witches made a small modification on the treatment and left with Narcissa promising to find out how to deal with the scar as soon as possible.

Soon they were all retrieving to their rooms to sleep, all of them very tired. After going through their night routines, Fleur and Hermione cuddled on the bed. Happy to simply have each other close. Then the blonde remembered to ask Hermione about what she had heard about Ronald.

* * *

Hermione felt Fleur practically purr as they hugged each other in silence. Then there was a slight change of demeanor. She looked at her girlfriend, waiting for her to speak what was on her mind.

"Uhm, 'ermione, what was it zat made you so sad earlier? Something about Ron…"

"You heard that…" Of course, she did, Hermione knew that, not only because of the worrying wave that had come across her but also because, yeah, she didn't mind the woman hearing… She was looking down and missed the short nod from the blonde. "Uhm…" She felt her own face become hot, telling this story meant explaining the obvious change in her friend's behavior since the end of the war. More exactly since that party at the Burrow. Looking at her girlfriend, she was met with curious eyes. They were just tad worried. "Right, that's actually a long story. It will not only explain why I was sad for a moment earlier but also explain why Ronald was being such an idiot to you ever since you came back from France. I hope he is doing better, by the way…" She watched Fleur nod, clearly hearing intently. "Don't be mad at him. He is simply an idiot. He has been pinning over me ever since, I don't know, fifth year? His way of showing it to me was… close to a five-year-old's. He was never too awful but obviously not pleasant. When we were Horcrux hunting, we kind of had a thing. I was really hurt when he left us that time, but also realized I didn't like him that way. When he came back, I told him that. He accepted but kept trying to woo me. I was even more certain that I didn't want anything with him at the last battle." Hermione took a deep breath. She knew Fleur was aware of how she felt towards her, but she had never put into words everything until now. It was kind of nerve wrecking. "We never talked about this… Anyway, sometime after we arrived here I felt a kind of a pull. Which now I realize was a type of thrall… It was absurdly strong and it only eased after we went down and joined the battle." Fleur nodded. Hermione still felt her face hot, talking about it in that way was… weird. "After we locked eyes when Harry went to Voldemort, I felt a constant pull towards you." Hermione sighed, she was absolutely embarrassed. "Well, skipping forward, after I came back with Mom and Dad, and you went to France, Harry saw my reaction to your present - the book and the letter and made me promise to try to understand what I felt about you. He's quite sensible…" She smiled, remembering how he made sure she would understand by herself. "Well, after those two weeks, I understood I was actually falling for you." Hermione laughed and received a quick peck on the lips. "When I arrived at the Burrow, I made sure to talk to Ginny - I knew she was kind of thick headed but not as much as Ronald - and asked Harry to talk to him. That shout we heard from upstairs was Ron's reaction. I don't know exactly what Harry told him, but he obviously didn't take it well. I didn't meet him a lot after that - or thought about him - because he began the training and all. When Harry got your owl about him, we asked him to meet us. He was acting that way because he was jealous."

"Of you. I can understand zat…"

"Of both of us. Her pinned over you ever since fourth year, Fleur. I don't think it was simply the thrall." Hermione laughed as her girlfriend looked at her, surprised. "Well, we tried to make him see it, I got frustrated and left the room. He… He argued with Harry, saying you did something to me, that they shouldn't simply believe that I had fallen for you on my own. Ginny pointed I've always been immune to you usual thrall." Hermione held her breath, knowing how Fleur would react to what she had to say next. "Then he called me dyke." She saw her face transform. The anger obvious in her orange eyes, the brunette was used to see them full of lust - they looked different. Anger irradiated from the veela. "Fleur, breathe. It's of no use being angry, he is an idiot. His own mother agrees. Ginny, Luna, and Harry fumed at him, Molly probably did too. He always expects she will agree with him, he must have told her himself what happened here. The apology letter he wrote me must have been her doing. He did apologize…"

"By letter."

"Yes."

"And you accepted?"

"Kind of. I haven't seen him that much. Since then I've seen him once."

"Zee first DA meeting." Hermione nodded. "'ow do you zink you will deal with 'im over 'olidays?"

"Uhm, I wasn't really thinking about it, but since we basically have to go to my parents and yours…"

"You know we 'ave to go to zee Burrow for at least two days, mon Ange…"

"Yes… I don't know how I'll react… Babe, I know you. You are thinking of a way to turn his life into hell…"

"I might…" Fleur was hugging Hermione now.

"Please, don't."

"Don't you dare defend 'im! Zat idiot 'urt you! 'e was basically one of your best friends! 'e should know better!"

"Ok, I won't defend him. But don't do anything to him, Fleur."

"I can't promise you zat. I'll do my best to simply ignore 'im. I guess I'll talk to Bill about zat when I come back."

"And I'm hoping you are not eager to go back…" Hermione changed her tone and kissed the veela's neck.

"Uh?" Fleur blinked, being quickly pulled out of her planning.

Hermione laughed and kissed the blonde, ending the conversation. She would have to take the redhead boy out of her mind and she had until the next Sunday.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hola! Yep, I'm rubbish at keeping an update schedule. Sorry about that... Anyway, Uhm... Next update you will have mostly Luna...
> 
> Did you like this chapter?
> 
> Please Comment and leave KUDOS!
> 
> Thanks for reading!
> 
> ;3   
> Luv yah
> 
> see you soon...
> 
> PS:Oh, right, my other story is up. So go read it (I managed to keep it shortish) hope you like, please review it!
> 
> PPS: If you feel like sending me requests suggestions or prompts, feel free to reach me by PM or email me: celticdaughterfics (gmail)


	34. Chapter 33

"Babe?" Fleur was spooning Hermione, holding her close as if trying to protect her from the world. They had been silent since they stopped kissing, and the lioness was beginning to doze off, when she remembered something she wanted to ask her girlfriend.

"Oui?" Her voice was thick with sleep.

"When do you think your grandma will answer the letter?" Hermione rolled to her other side to look at the blonde's face.

"I zink Yuna will be back by tomorrow but I don't know eef she will be able to give us all zee answers we want…"

"But…"

"What we 'ave ees something I never 'eard of. What I 'ave 'eard and read says zat eet ees very rare among veela to bond emotionally with zeir veela mate before zee mating process finished. Grandmére will probably 'ave to research." Fleur explained softly, "I believe eet ees even rarer for eet to 'appen between veela/human mates. I know you are curious, your thirst for knowledge ees something I will always admire… Eff she doesn't 'ave answers now, she will make sure to 'ave zem by zee 'olidays." Fleur smiled sleepily and kissed Hermione softly. The lioness turned around so they could resume their previous position. "Goodnight, mon Ange…" Fleur said against her shoulder and kissed the nape of her neck.

"Goodnight, babe…"

Being held helped Hermione to fall asleep quickly, the potions the healers had given her would help her through the day. The soothing thrall Fleur exhaled made her relax completely in her arms, she noticed. She managed to sleep comfortably and deeply, just as the other nights the blonde had been with her.

* * *

Luna was the first to wake up that Monday, as always. But this time the weight of two sets of arms holding her coaxed her to drift back to sleep. She never thought she would be held like that, always aware of her schoolmates' opinion of her. Ginny had been her first friend and she had brought the Trio closer to her. Luna never thought the redhead cared so much about her. Ever since the end of the war, she had been living with the Weasleys. She didn't want to deal with her father so she asked Molly if she could stay there. The older witch was happy to have her there after she talked to her father.

The blonde started to stir awake about half an hour after she slept again. Taking care not to disrupt the others' sleep, she began to get out of the bed.

"Morning, Lun," Harry whispered softly, "Slept well?" He smiled when she looked at him.

"Quite..." She smiled at him, locking eyes (his sleepy, hers half dreamingly - still recovering from the awful dreams from a few days ago). The redhead beside Harry stirred and sighed, kissing his shoulder.

"Morning, you two..." She smiled at Luna. Her voice full of sleep. Ginny got out of the bed and walked towards the blonde. "good night of sleep?" the redhead seemed to somehow like being higher than Luna and hugged the blonde, tucking her head under her chin. The Ravenclaw was rendered silent and simply nodded. She felt her heart leap and her stomach turn. She then realized something that, on others, only took her one look to recognize. Luna felt her face get warm but hugged the ginger anyway. It lingered a bit more than usual. She was startled by a loud snore. Ginny laughed as they turned to the source of the noise, a very knocked out Harry.

"We should head out to breakfast..." Luna said after the redhead's laughter subdued.

"Sure…" Luna saw a small glint in her eyes.

She followed the redhead movements until she jumped right above Harry, effectively waking him up. She felt her heart swell at the sight of them, love was quite obvious to her (between both of them). The blonde tried to convince herself that what she was feeling was simply gratitude for the way they were taking care of her. She couldn't. She decided to go through her morning routine and shove whatever she was thinking (feeling) to the back of her mind. The resolve didn't last, though. She caught herself thinking about it a few minutes later, she knew how her mind worked. She wanted to understand whatever was happening and knew her mind wouldn't let go of it until a conclusion was drawn. At least it would keep her mind away from the mansion… She hoped so.

Luna wasn't one to dwell too much, that mansion stuff was dragging a bit too much for her taste. She simply hoped it would go away soon enough.

"Lun?" Looking up, she saw Harry looking at her worriedly. She almost had to force a smile but it came along with the thought that he was one of the persons helping her to go through the nights and days. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, you seemed to have zoned out for a moment…" Ginny stood not too far away, looking at her. She simply nodded, not trusting her voice after noticing how both of them seemed to care. "Okay, if you need anything just say it. Have you taken the potions?" The ginger asked unnecessarily, Luna knew the woman kept an eye on the flasks of the potions she had to take and that she had counted them before they got to sleep so she would know if she or Harry forgot to take them. She nodded anyway. They were all ready to go, it was kind of early actually, precisely time to go to the great hall. She heard a loud knock.

"Hey, you guys decent?" Hermione's voice sounded from the other side of the door.

"As if you've never seen any of us not decent!" Ginny quipped back and the door flung open, revealing a grinning Hermione and a very jealous Fleur by her side.

"Relax, Fleur. We definitely hold no competition against you." She said, looking at her veela friend. Smiling softly at the small change in the demeanor of the other blonde. "Good morning!"

"You ready for breakfast? I'm starving!" Hermione smiled, slipping her hand into Fleur's.

"And I thought you would be capable of satisfying her, dear Fleur…" Ginny was grinning, Harry was looking as if he preferred to behead himself instead of hearing that conversation (he really did).

"Don't worry, Ginny. When we come to zat you will be able to know." A smirk took over the veela's face while she embraced her girlfriend and made her visibly quiver with a kiss on her neck.

"If it happens, I will make sure to let you know about us too…"

"My innocence is already tainted, Gin. You forget I live with Harry. At the very same apartment you leave the bedroom without at least a muffliato charm." Hermione smiled a bit then looked at her best friend, who was looking very flushed and obviously not knowing what to do with himself. All of them directed their attention to the only boy in the room and laughed at how terrified he looked.

"Shall we?" Fleur said, taking pity on the boy. She caught herself staring at him as he moved out of the bedroom. Hermione and Ginny were laughing, holding each other up. When she looked away, she caught Fleur observing her. The older blonde simply smiled at her, knowingly. Shit, she needed to talk to her and try to put her mind back in order. They stalked after the man. This would be an interesting Monday. The first meal went by smoothly. Her gaze lingering at the couple in front of her as she (for some reason) made sure to sit by Hermione's side.

"So, what're the plans for today?" Ginny asked, smiling broadly.

"Lounging by zee lake?" Fleur suggested.

"I could do that!" Hermione smiled at her girlfriend.

"Deal," Harry said after he exchanged a glance with the ginger. They all turned to her.

"Sure…" As they began their way, Luna held Hermione and Fleur slightly back so she could talk to them. She had been arguing with herself if it would make any difference to talk only to Fleur. She wanted the brunette's opinion too… "Can I talk to you for a minute?" She asked them quietly, making sure the couple ahead of them wouldn't hear.

"Sure…" Hermione answered.

"'arry, Gin, go ahead. I just remembered I need to talk to McGonagall before we head outside to know the time of the classes I need to attend."

"Okay!" Ginny answered. "Lun?" She added as she noticed her standing still by Fleur's side.

"Uh… I need to ask her about a few things myself… Meet you soon?"

"Sure…" Harry answered and practically dragged Ginny outside.

"So…" She began. "Uhm…"

"We should get to an empty classroom." Hermione broke her off.

As they entered the first vacant room, Luna became aware that she was about to expose herself and froze on the spot, examining the floor.

"You know we won't judge you for whatever you say, right?" Hermione said softly, holding Fleur's hand while reaching out to hers with her free one. "I know we had a rough start, I know I judged you a lot - and I know you know that too… But honestly, you have come to be one of my closest friends…"

Luna looked up and saw simple understanding and worry in both women's eyes. And realized they already knew what she had to say.

"How do you already know?" She asked.

"You are not zee only one zat observes your friends, Luna." Fleur winked, she moved to hold Hermione from behind.

"And you were quite blatant today… You've just realized, haven't you?" Hermione asked with a smile.

Luna nodded, her body relaxed a bit now that she noticed they really weren't judging her. "I don't actually know what to do…"

"I zink you should talk to zem. You might be surprised…" Fleur looked at her from Hermione's shoulder, where her head rested. The brunette beckoned her to get closer, she did.

She released a shaky breath as she felt herself being embraced by the older women, knowing they had her back. "Thank you… We should go to McGonagall…"

"No need, I already know zee schedule. She gave it to me earlier."

"Shall we go enjoy our first school-free day, then?" Hermione smiled at both blondes. Luna was absolutely happy that she could consider them her friends.

As they walked, she came to think about the friendship she had so recently acquired. She noticed they were all quite close, they all considered each other siblings even Ginny with her absurd amount of brothers. They were her chosen family, she knew she could count on them with absolutely anything. Now she didn't have to hide behind that masquerade she invented for herself - the crazy loony girl. Obviously, she believed in all those magical creatures she talked about and she was quite capable of seeing them but now she didn't feel the need to pretend she wasn't aware of her surroundings.

"Lun?" She snapped out of her thoughts and noticed she had been so absolutely lost in her mind that she hadn't even noticed they were already outside. All of them were looking at her waiting for her to sit with them.

"Sorry… Got lost in my mind…"

"Wrackspurts, right?" Hermione smiled sweetly at her, laughing.

"Yeah…"

Ginny moved and quickly kissed her cheek. "To get rid of them." She laughed along Hermione, Luna felt her heart flutter and gulped a little, feeling her face get slightly red. They were laughing, but not at her. They all knew that these specific creatures existed, even Hermione. They were simply having a good time. Luna noticed Hermione wink at her, smiling. The older lioness had thought of an acceptable excuse for her rather quickly… She silently thanked her.

The rest of the morning went by calmly with them sat together appreciating the beautiful view the lake offered. Well, if asked about the beauty of the view, Luna would simply agree, but what she was admiring wasn't the exact same thing - Oh, shit she was completely smitten. She had caught herself admiring the black and red haired couple a few times before admitting to herself that she couldn't keep her eyes from them. The time passed with them in a calm silence. They all had their share of noisy places being it the Burrow, the school or the battlefield. The silence was welcomed and comforting, Luna felt it and it was obvious on their faces. They went to lunch when the clock indicated they should. The Ravenclaw almost excused herself to go sit at her house's table, Fleur noticed her intentions and dragged her with them to the Gryffindor's.

"I'm not supposed to sit here…" She murmured to the veela, who smiled back.

"I never took you as a coward, Luna. And I doubt anyone in zis school would tell you to go to zee other table." She whispered. Luna saw Hermione nodding, the lioness always seemed to be able to listen to what her girlfriend said. She ignored Fleur's first phrase and simply began to serve herself.

"So, Fleur, when will that one-on-one happen?" Ginny asked at some moment during the meal, grinning. Merlin, she adored that smile… Ok, smitten.

* * *

Hermione looked at Fleur, hoping her girlfriend would dismiss the challenge. She knew it wouldn't happen but she couldn't help but hope. She saw Fleur smile and caress her thigh as to calm her.

"I guess at zee end of zee week?"

"Uhm, you nervous?" Ginny had her glint of mischief in her eyes.

"Gin, you know how Hermione feels about Quidditch and flying. The week off is supposed to be relaxing, if you do it now it will have the exact opposite effect." Harry eyed Hermione and then his girlfriend. The brunette saw Fleur nod by her side.

"Oh, right…"

When they finished eating, Fleur excused herself to go to the class she was supposed to attend. Hermione held her hand and stood, making it clear that she would accompany her.

"See you by the lake, 'Mione?" Ginny asked, without looking their way.

"Yeah…"

Once they were out of hearing range, the brunette looked at her girlfriend.

"Babe," Fleur looked at her and smiled. The smile warmed Hermione, she could feel the devotion in her eyes. She kissed Fleur's cheek. Just because she couldn't help it. "Uhm, not long ago you said Harry and Ginny were mates, but you told Luna to talk with them…"

"Yes. Zere are some zings zat can 'appen to 'umans zat are impossible to 'appen to veelas, even if zeir mate are 'uman. Zee bond to veela denies zee 'uman of zose zings." Hermione nodded, the walk to the class was already automatic to her and Fleur had no trouble on following her without thinking so they were both focused on the talk. "Some souls go zrough so much in one life zat sometimes zey are destined to meet not one, but two mates. I don't really understand 'ow eet works, no one does. But a few cases are known by zee veela, 'uman mating ees something zat awakens our curiosity."

"Harry definitely has gone through a lot…"

"Ginny and Luna too. Even with 'umans, zee soul only recognizes zeir mate when zey are both ready,"

"Like what happened to us." Fleur nodded.

"I can't say eet with absolute certainty, but I'd risk saying zats zee case with zem. Zeir bond ees clear…"

"Now that I think about it… It makes sense. They kind of compliment each other." They were close to their destination, an absurd amount of students were in the hall, some drooling over Fleur which annoyed Hermione quite a bit. Apparently, she exhaled her annoyance, the blonde snickered a bit and made a point by holding her by the waist. They came to a stop a few steps from the door, the lioness sighed, knowing there would be a lot of staring towards her girlfriend during the entire afternoon and dreading one of those wouldn't be from herself. Her breath caught when she felt Fleur press her against the nearest wall. The lioness had to bit the moan that almost erupted from her lips. She felt the veela' smirk against her skin.

"Your smell is absolutely inebriating. And don't worry, I'm all yours." Fleur murmured by her ear, making her shiver.

"Uhm…"

"Now, I should go inside before zee teacher comes to find us 'ere. Zey are all inside already." Fleur kissed her softly on the lips. "See you later?" Hermione nodded, flustered, and watched her walking through the door - she was certain Fleur was making a point by swaying a bit more than usual.

* * *

Luna decided to try and understand what she was feeling. Not that there was something to really analyze… Anyway, she didn't want to ruin their friendship for something that could go away easily, no, she would take this week to see things through.

"Lun, are you ok?" Ginny dragged her out of her head, she had to focus a bit to keep her face from getting warmer. She nodded, then looked at her friends - and apparently, crushes -, they gave her a worried look. "You sure? You seem out of it today…"

"Yeah, I'm just a bit tired…" She was indeed, thinking that much about her feelings was draining. She let them think it was because of the mansion incident. In a small part, it was. But she was trying to keep those moments from her mind. Writing about it helped her with having some closure, she knew the aurors were working on bringing everyone in and fortunately the potions were helping to fix the rest of the nerve damage.

"Come here." Harry was quick to say and motioned for her to lay down with her head on his lap. "You know you can talk to us, right? We want to help." He smiled and Ginny nodded.

"I do. I'm just… Recovering, you are helping already. Thanks for everything." She smiled, feeling the soothing movement of Harry's fingers in her hair.

"Anything you need…" Ginny said softly, kissing her cheek. Luna woke up to the redhead's laughter a short time later. "You really need to work on your jealousy, 'Mione!"

"Uh?!" Luna exclaimed, not really awake to understand what was being said.

"Oh! I woke you up… Sorry, Lun…" Ginny said, sheepishly.

"Not a problem…" She offered a smile to the younger Gryffindor. "What happened?" She asked after registering what she had said and that a frustrated looking brunette had been added to the group.

"Fleur pinned 'Mione against the wall before class. In front of everyone, because Hermione was feeling jealous." Ginny was still laughing at the brunette's face and Harry was trying to hold his laughter back. Luna smiled.

"Lun, Ginny said you weren't feeling well…" Hermione looked at her, clearly trying to change the subject.

"I'm good, I was just tired. I guess I haven't slept enough to compensate the hours awake because of the nightmares…" She shrugged. Hermione raised a brow at it. "I'm good, really."

"Okay…"

They spent the next two hours sunbathing and having small talk. Hermione and Harry tried to explain to Ginny and her a few muggle sports.

"So no real danger? No flying?" Ginny was, to be honest, absolutely unimpressed.

"No. How would someone fly without magic?"

"I don't know, muggles seem to always have a way to make things work like magic! This electricity thing is definitely an example!"

"Now you sound just like your father, babe!" Harry laughed at his girlfriend confused face.

"Right. Those muggle sports are no fun. They make no sense at all!" Ginny pouted a bit in response to the comparison Harry made.

"Don't be like that!" The boy kissed her cheek.

"Football is quite interesting, actually," Luna said, smiling at them. They all looked shocked that she knew what the sport was. "Dad and I stayed at a few muggle cities during some of our travels, I saw a couple of games…" An owl, Yuna, came to view and landed in front of Hermione, carrying what seemed to be nothing. "Oh, Fleur's grandmother answered?" Ginny and Harry gave her an odd look and Hermione moved to free an invisible package from the owl.

"Oh, right… The veela thing…" Ginny realized.

"Sorry, I can't really expand the magic…" Hermione said, carefully putting the mail in her purse.

"Nah, It's fun to watch you perform mimicry," Harry said. They cracked up laughing.

They resumed discussing muggle stuff until the clock chimed at the end of the class and they made their way back to the castle. They met Fleur as they walked through the doors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey! Sorry, it took me too long to post it. No excuses. So, I hope you enjoyed the snippet of Luna's mind... I personally don't believe she would hold into sadness for more than 2/3 days, so the distraction of her feelings was kind of good.
> 
> I hope you can forgive me and that you enjoyed the story!
> 
> Please review, I'm always pleased to learn what you think!
> 
> ;3
> 
> See Yah!
> 
> PS: Oh, right, my other story is up. So go read it (I managed to keep it shortish) hope you like, please review it!
> 
> PPS: If you feel like sending me requests suggestions or prompts, feel free to reach me by PM or email me: celticdaughterfics (gmail)


	35. Chapter 34

"Hey!" Hermione smiled sweetly at Fleur as they walked into the Great Hall hand in hand.

"'i, mon Ange" Gods she loved that pet name!

"How was the class slash lecture?" Hermione asked, after giving her a peck on the cheek.

"Uh, nothing out of normal… Most of zem got excited and zen terrified zat we are 'unting zee rogue Death Eaters." She chuckled a little, clearly thinking about their faces.

"Uhm…" Hermione caught herself releasing Fleur's hand and holding her closer, by her waist. When the hell had she became so possessive? She got out of her own head when she felt the blonde chuckle a little and her hand on her shoulder. "Oh! Your grandmére answered. Yuna arrived earlier." Fleur nodded.

"Want to go zrough eet after dinner?"

"Sure!"

The meal went on as usual. Actually, Hermione noticed Luna was a little more loony than usual. Knowing the reason, she didn't bother asking. It was quite cute watching the girl realize her own feelings. She could obviously relate to Luna, as apparently everyone noticed her feeling towards Fleur before herself (and Fleur). They went up, to the tower, together.

"You will come back down after seeing the mail?" Harry asked.

"Uh… No idea." Hermione looked at her girlfriend, who shrugged. "Maybe… You plan on sleeping already?"

"I don't. To be honest I'm completely awake…" He answered.

"Me too… I might start the homework." Luna intervened, pointing at the four neatly piled stacks that clearly were for them. Ginny simply nodded.

"Right… Uhm, we will let you guys know eef we will come back or not when we are finished." Fleur offered, to which they agreed.

The couple went to the room, Hermione was absolutely curious to know what the verdict was and she was able to tell Fleur was too. The blonde followed her into the room and sat by her side on the bed after closing the door. Hermione was leaning on the bedrest and was fumbling with her book-bag, honestly, she was actually surprised with how many things were inside of it.

"If science doubted that black holes exist, I have the proof right here!" She deadpanned slightly annoyed, making Fleur chuckle. "Really how do I ever find anything here?"

"Summoning spell?" The blonde smiled.

"Right. Accio package!" The mail landed on her lap, Fleur looked at her amused. "Excuse me, raised muggle! I have the right to forget about magic sometimes!"

"Bien sûr, ma belle!" The blonde laughed, kissing her softly. "Luckily you haven't during the war…"

"I almost did." Fleur raised an eyebrow at it. "After we broke into the ministry, disguised by polyjuice, I side-along apparated with Harry and Ron but we were followed so I had to apparate again, Ron splinched and I tried to find dittany by hand…" She chuckled at the memory even it being a bit tense.

"Eet serves 'im right. " Fleur said bitterly.

"Fleur!"

"What, 'ermione? You can't expect me to forget about eet."

"But I can expect you not to wish bad for him!"

"He 'urt you, ma belle."

"Unintentionally."

"But did."

"Ok. It won't do us any good to discuss this. Remember your promise to me. And please let ME deal with that arse."

"Fine. But I'm not 'appy with eet."

Hermione nodded and resumed to analyze the package. Fleur moved on the bed so she was beside the brunette, her head resting on her shoulder.

"I wonder what she found out..."

"Only one way to find out, mon ange."

"Right." Hermione tore the wrapping paper in one swift move. Fleur chuckled at her eagerness and kissed her cheek to make the frown on her face go away (it appeared when she noticed the blonde was actually laughing at her). Their focus again on the mail, they noticed a rather stuffed envelope tied to a notebook (which seemed to be a new one) and another envelope (this was a lot thinner) at loose. They were all laying on Hermione's lap.

"Zis one first, I guess," Fleur said picking up the solo envelope and opening it. Hermione forced herself to release the breath she didn't realize (until then) she was holding. "'ow ees eet for you?" the blonde asked, showing her the letter.

"Uhm, perfect English. Why?" she asked, with a raised eyebrow.

"Eet's in French for me."

"How is that possible?" Hermione sensed her own curiosity picking up and Fleur's smugness was obvious.

"Grandmère came out with zis spell during zee first Wizarding War zat 'elped us, veelas, surviving. Zere are some veela clans 'ere in zee UK, as you already know. Veelas fought Voldemort in more fronts zan ees known. All zee intell was made possible to be passed zrough because of zis spell." Hermione couldn't help but smile at the French's broad proud-full grin. "Zee spell works in a way zat zee correct message ees only displayed to a veela or-"

"To a veela's mated mate."

"Oui. To any other person, eet appears to be gibberish. And, depending on eets contents, zee caster could restrict zee receiver of zee message. Usually to one specific veela and zeir mate. And whatever was written in eet appears in the reader's first language."

"That's genius, Fleur!"

"I guess she wanted to test eet, given what we wrote to 'er..." With that, they fell silent, reading the meticulously ornamented (absolutely beautiful) handwriting.

 

 

> _Dear Girls,_
> 
> _I'll begin this first letter with small talk since I really wish to know how you both are and Appoline is bugging me to ask you when you will come to France. Anyhow, we are all fine here. Appoline and Armand are anxious to get to know Hermione once you come. Gabrielle is being her insufferable self in school, as usual. Madam Maxine has complained a little about her. But Gabrielle continues to be first in class, obviously. I'm absolutely delighted to have Hermione in the family. Apolline says you are invited to come during Christmas holidays (meaning all of you, friends and family) as she wants to know everyone. We will go to the winter house. Owl us as soon as you decide when you are coming._
> 
> _Now, I'm aware you must be curious about my answer to all of your questions. I had to make some research as what you have is quite rare. After reading what you wrote to me, I was curious to know how my spell would work on Hermione so obviously I casted it here as a test. I trust Fleur will explain to you it's history, Hermione. Once you are here we can discuss its mechanics if you wish to do so. The envelope attached to the notebook I sent you carries every note I made during my research. The notebook is actually a gift from Armand, he says he would like very much to discuss your bond with you and kindly ask you to write everything you notice as something bounding-like. I might have to agree with the writing thing. We have no history (as far as I know) of it in our family and the families that have, simply have little to nothing registered. I understand it is very personal but if it is possible, write as much as you can. Every record I found describing a bond similar to yours has at least 300 years, one more recent would certainly be welcomed. It is perfectly acceptable if you wish to keep it to yourselves._
> 
> _My dears, what you have is very unique and very strong cherish it._
> 
> _I hope my notes are able to help you someway but as far as I have read it is indeed unique for each couple. If you need to discuss anything else feel free to reach out._
> 
> _Love,_
> 
> _your grandma,_
> 
> _Isabelle._

Hermione shuffled a little. As far as she had understood from the veela's letter, they had almost no research material. And it was quite obvious, being the other envelope their only source and apparently, it held every source found by the Delacour Matriarch. She hated having so little to know. And even worse, their bond could go to a completely different direction from the ones registered.

"Merlin's beard!" Hermione started freaking out as soon as her brain registered all the information.

"'ermione, breathe. I know you don't like eet but we at least 'ave each ozer." Fleur said, nuzzling her and holding her close. The brunette couldn't help but smile at her girlfriend and nod.

"Sorry…"

"Don't apologize, mon Ange. Don't ever apologize for being yourself." The blonde held her in between her legs so she was yet closer than before and kissed her neck lightly. The younger witch felt herself melt in her arms, knowing only she could be able to calm her down so quickly and effortlessly. Even without the soothing thrall. "Do you wish to go over grandmère's research or start writing?"

"I think we should read Isabelle's research, so we will know what to write, no?"

"Excellent idea, as always,"

Hermione felt her cheeks get warmer with the praise and smiled after kissing the blonde's cheek. "And you might start calling 'er grandmère…" Fleur chuckled as Hermione's eyes got wide open.

"But…"

"No, but, chére. You are my mate, 'ermione. You are part of zee family and grandmère won't accept any other way." Fleur smiled at the brunette dumbfounded expression. "Eet's better eef you get used to eet. Maman will probably tell you zee same and make you call her mom. I zink she always dreamed to be able to do so ever since she found out she was pregnant…"

"Uhm…" Hermione could only nod. She had been absolutely nervous about getting to know the infamous Delacours, that new information got to her nerves and made it worse. What if they hated her? Or thought she wasn't fit to being Fleur's wife? Wait. When the hell did she begin to think about marriage? The blonde nudged her lightly to gain her attention.

"Zey will love you. Zere ees no way zey wouldn't." She felt the veela's embrace tighten and a feather-like kiss on her neck. "Now, do you wish to read zis research or do you rather 'ave me distracting you from your nonsensical worries?" She nipped Hermione's neck lightly to deliver her intentions with the second proposal.

"Uhm… What worries?" The brunette deadpanned while ensuring greater access to her neck. They both chuckled a little. "If you keep being like that I'm not sure I'll be able to let you go home by the end of the week, babe."

"You are my home," Fleur whispered in the lioness' ear.

"And people think veelas are simply feral beings. Who would think they can be so cheesy, sweet and smooth?" Hermione laughed.

"I'll 'ave you know zat we veelas are indeed feral. But only when we feel zreatened. And about zee rest, although you make eet sound like a bad zing, I'm well aware you liked eet."

"Oh, of course, I did. Having my gorgeous girlfriend calling me home is quite flattering. I'll have her know that I, too, consider her home. A beautiful, stunning, awesome home." Hermione smiled sweetly after kissing Fleur. "Now, shall we begin reading the letter? I'd like to enjoy the company of said girlfriend without the curiosity that is eating me from inside."

"Oui," The blonde accioed the letter, wandlessly. To what Hermione silently thanked. She wasn't willing to move from her place between the veela's legs. Yes, she noticed how awkward it sounded, even only in her mind. "Care to read eet aloud?"

"Why?" The brunette nodded nonetheless.

"For me to read I'd 'ave to move at zee risk of dislodging you. And zat seems absolutely wrong." Hermione smiled and broke the wax seal holding the envelope closed.

"We should read it all and then discuss it?" Hermione asked slipping into her serious, studious self. She felt the blonde nod, also quite serious and focused.

 

 

> _Every piece of information I gathered about similar bonds is listed here. After reading it all, Apolline, Armand and I discussed our findings. Our conclusions are listed at the end (the entries are chronologically organized, from the oldest I've found)._
> 
> _.._
> 
> _Year: 973_
> 
> _Ruud Clan, Norway._
> 
> _Aim_ _ée (full female veela) and Gaelle_ _(full female veela)_
> 
> _The register found simply describe a bond between the two of them, both fearless warriors. The clan was at war by the time they found each other, they were both leaders and therefore unable to fulfill the bond. Their warriors were able to see how much they complemented each other. As they later described to the author (usually one person was elected as the scribe), they were in complete harmony since the moment they crossed eyes. Some would say they were able to finish each other phrases right after they met. In battle, they fought as one, where one failed, the other excelled. In death (years later), they were as inseparable as they had been in life. They left the living realm as one, both their final breaths drawn at the exact same time._
> 
> _.._
> 
> _Year: 1040_
> 
> _Falk Clan, Sweden._
> 
> _Naya (full female veela) and Tascha (full female veela)_
> 
> _The history of this clan had great register of both of the mates, in this case. They were both known for their large prowess and magical ability. One known around most nearby villages for her impressive ability in healing, the other known for her enchantress capability. There's not much more information about them, the whole record has about two paragraphs, one talking about them and the other saying their bonding was unique as far as the veela community there had known. Apparently even before they were fully mated, they were able to feel each other's emotions and reach for the other mentally. They were, later, the leaders of the clan for a few years. Once again, it is said they both died at the exact same time._
> 
> _.._
> 
> _Year: 1155_
> 
> _Leclair Clan, France._
> 
> _Ysabeau (full female veela) and Mahi_ _(half female veela)_
> 
> _The heir of a clan found her mate between their enemies. Both clans were at war, trying to conquer each other territory. This is the origin of the Leclair Clan. The bond shared between both of them managed to end the war. Their birth clans merged under their orientation. It says they understood each other instantly and that after the final bound they were often described as almost one being._
> 
> _.._
> 
> _Year: 1394_
> 
> _Acerbi Clan, Italy._
> 
> _Piero (full male veela) and Luigi_ _(full male veela)_
> 
> _Not much about them. They were both absolutely in love with each other, according to their families. Apparently, they did not fully bound as the clan was at war at the time and was killed. Died a few days later._
> 
> _.._
> 
> _Year: 1528_
> 
> _Losnedahl Clan, Norway._
> 
> _Aleksander_ _(full male veela) and Freydís_ _(half female veela)_
> 
> _They were warriors from a distant village and happened to meet while coming back from a battle. She was the leader of her small clan and he was the commander among his warriors. Both having an important role for their people, they were not able to bond fully immediately. He left his town in order to be with her but even before they could truly bond, it was clear how merged their lives were. Again they died together._
> 
> _.._
> 
> _Year: 1674_
> 
> _Royer Clan, France._
> 
> _Katherine (half female veela) and Diane_ _(half female veela)_
> 
> _Both women were known among their Clan for their intelligence and wit. Absolutely respected ever since they began school, they helped the clan grow and so were known as the councilors of their leader. Their bond made them able to understand each other even before they took the final step of the bound. They had known each other for quite a long time but only noticed they were mates long after finishing school. Those are the mates that we have the most information about. But even then we don't have much about them. The writer seems to have talked to them of known them personally. She describes them as a couple that could make any other couple in their town jealous as the seemed to never fight and always understand each other without having to utter a word. It was known that they both had an impressive magical capability and that they had taken part in at least one battle (and apparently almost died). Again, their bonding had a slow pace, therefore, they didn't really mate right away. Their harmony had been there ever since they realized they were mates, some would say even before._
> 
> _.._
> 
> _Those were the only cases similar to yours I've found, dears. I have reached the clans in England but they have no written history about that. It seems the bond you share is incredibly rare and unique. As for the conclusions your parents and I came to, I'd say they are obviously scarce given the lack of information but we do have some, to begin with. After reading everything we found and compare them with all the information we have from regular bonding, we were able to understand that as far as we see this kind of bond is shared between mates that came across very dangerous and traumatic circumstances or mates that have very powerful (and well developed) magical core, which is obviously the case for you. Both_ _are_ _possibilities, if I'm being honest. Another possibility we have come to understand is that both of you will probably develop most if not every possible consequence of the veela bond as you two are indeed quite powerful in your magic. Part of the premature bond you share comes from Hermione's part as she apparently fully accepts and respects your true self (not only the human but the veela too). Given she is a human, the depth of the bond you have is almost unheard of because most humans are unable to fully understand and accept our animal side. Hermione is well respected among most magical creatures cultures given her need to understand and lack of judgment for our culture. As both of you must have noticed, in all the cases we have found the mates are at least part veela and that obviously makes your case even more unique. I won't discuss with you what conclusions we have come across about the mates passing as I understand it's quite blatant. I'm sorry I'm not able to give you better answers. See you during the holidays, I hope (Fleur, your mother is being insufferable saying at least you and Hermione must come to see us and that you better make time to come. Sorry about that I really thought I had raised her better.)_
> 
> _Love,_
> 
> _Grandmère_
> 
> _P.S.: I'm sure Fleur already told you that I demand you call me grandmère, Hermione. It's true._

As she finished reading, Hermione had a small smile plastered on her face.

"I told you, chéri. She won't let you call 'er by 'er given name." Fleur said, kissing the brunette's mane. The latter moved a little so she could directly look at the blonde.

"I have no idea of how my mum will treat you…"

"We 'ave already met, chér."

"Well, that's not what they said…"

"Excuse moi?"

"They say you have to be introduced as my girlfriend this time." Hermione smiled. "That's what she told me when I told her about you…"

"When did you talk to 'er? I assume you wouldn't simply say you were interested in a woman over a letter."

"Uh… Remember I went home Sunday for my birthday?"

"So you were certain zat I would say yes?"

"I was hoping you would…" Hermione smiled and kissed the veela softly. Fleur hummed against her lips. "Now, about that offer to distract me…"

"Eet's always standing."

"Good." Hermione made one swift movement with her hand and the letters plus notebooks found their way to the desk nearby.

"Perfect, as always," Fleur stated, admiring how everything got into a neat pile right in the middle of the table.

"Where were we?" The lioness smiled at her girlfriend, accepting the praise. "Oh, right!" She leaned in and closed the (absurdly long, in her opinion) distance between them. A small moan escaped from Fleur's mouth as their lips touched.

About thirty minutes later, the duo descended the stairs and found their three friends bundled up in their favorite couch with a steamy mug on their hands.

Harry pointed at the table. "Dobby just brought them, he wanted to bring us something to wrap the day. Or so he says."

"I think he just wanted to make sure we were all fine." Ginny offered and both, Harry and Luna nodded.

Hermione took her mug and offered the other to Fleur, with a little smile. They already had their respective mugs, Dobby liked to bring them their favorites every now and then. The mugs were always on display on the shelf in the small kitchen they had. Six mugs, one for each and one for Moire as the girl came by sometimes. Looking at their mugs anyone could figure out to whom they belonged to. Hermione's was blue (in her opinion, the colour of Fleur's eyes), Fleur's was aged gold (the color of the lioness' eyes) - yes, they were cheesy like that -, Harry's was gold and crimson with a moving snitch, Ginny's had the Holyhead Harpies crest in it and bore the team's colors, and Luna's was plain blue and bronze. Hermione had charmed Moire's mug so it held Gryffindor's crest in a crimson background.

"He is spoiling us," Hermione said as she sat on the opposite couch with Fleur.

"'ow does 'e even know what our favorite drinks are?"

"I'd say he had help. From a little friend of ours from Diagon Ally…"

"Right…"

"Did you do any of this?" Hermione asked, pointing at the four piles of parchment.

"Nope, but Lun went through it." Gin answered, "Apparently, as you are usually the one that lends notes to whoever gets sick and I would say that no one has the ability to write as fast nor as much as you, we received the teachers' notes with everything that went to the blackboard and a transcript of the lessons…"

"McGonagall went all out making sure we had the best source to study… These transcription quills are quite expensive…" Luna added, airily.

Hermione got up after taking a sip from her cup and giving it to Fleur. She noticed they didn't question her movement, her friends knew her well. Taking the stash of parchment with her name over it, she sat back next to Fleur.

"Seems to be a lot of 'omework…" Fleur said after one look at the papers on the lioness hands.

"It's the normal amount to seventh years… With the N.E.W.T.s by the end of the school year…" Hermione said while going through it all, "And it's actually this week's worth. They are all due to next week… We have essays, with at least 35 inches each, to write about human transfiguration, veritaserum, and Merpeople. And quizzes about the first two… And I have 35 inches of runes to translate." She informed calmly.

"At least zee subjects are interesting…" Fleur smiled at them. "I might 'ave a few books you can use as research for zee merpeople essay… I know 'ow few zee library 'as and 'ow poor of information zey are…"

"Don't ever say that to Madam Pince, babe."

"Yes, she will take it as a personal offense…" Luna added, smiling.

"The last time someone had the nerve to say the place was poor of resources, she made sure to ban the poor girl from the premises for about a month." Ginny laughed. "I believe she was a Ravenclaw. The girl went around begging to people so they would borrow the books she needed. It was quite fun to watch. McGonagall took pity on her and persuaded Madam Pince to let her get back but I'm quite sure she had some fun watching the girl get desperate."

"I believe I saw her holding her laughter once… But before I could do a double take she had schooled her face…" Harry added.

"I don't think it's ok to mess with someone's education." Hermione scowled.

"Come on, 'Mione I saw you trying to control your laughter at least twice…" Harry smiled at her.

"Ees eet even possible? Banning a student from zee library, I mean."

"Not according to the school rules," Hermione answered, ignoring Harry.

"But no one likes to go against Madam Pince. Not even McGonagall." Ginny offered.

"Or Dumbledore. But I do believe he had a lot of fun when it happened." Harry added.

"By the end of the day, no one wants to be in her aim of wrath. And everyone basically accepts it's her library." Hermione concludes.

"Does she accept donations?" Fleur asked after absorbing the information about the librarian.

"Usually, yes. But I think the books need to go through the faculty's analysis." Hermione answered. "We should go to sleep…" She added, looking at the clock.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey guys! Sorry, it took me so long to update, life has been crazy... So, thoughts? I was thinking about adding some entries of their journals here and there, but I don't really know how it would work...
> 
> Please comment, I'm always pleased to learn what you think! Kudos are life!
> 
> ;3
> 
> See Yah!
> 
> PS: Oh, right, my other story is up. So go read it (I managed to keep it shortish) hope you like, please review it!
> 
> PPS: If you feel like sending me requests suggestions or prompts, feel free to reach me by PM or email me: celticdaughterfics (gmail)


	36. Chapter 35

Fleur excused herself the next morning to quickly go to her place and pick up the books she had offered to the other four. The group had decided to stay at the library and begin their work on all their essays. As she entered the library, carrying said books, she greeted the librarian and moved to the spot she knew they would be. Hermione's favorite table.

"'Ere." She placed the books in front of her girlfriend, smiling. "Zere ees one on 'uman transfiguration and one on potent potions too." She received a peck on the cheek and a bright smile from Hermione as a prize (at least she considered it a prize). "Ask Madam Pince eef she ees interested in 'aving zem 'ere as I know she doesn't already 'ave, please, 'ermione." The brunette nodded. "I 'ave to get to zat class now, eef you will excuse me." She smiled at the other three sat alongside the lioness and off she went.

Talking about her work was easy. She loved the action it provided, the possibility of making something right for the community. It was quite dangerous, yes, but it was obviously part of the job. Just like curse-breaking. She talked about both jobs during those two hours, answered their questions and basically scared them to death with some of her field stories from her working time at Gringotts. The class finished, Fleur went directly to the Great Hall where she had agreed to meet her girlfriend and friends. She smiled while thinking about the lioness, as always. She was lost in thought walking towards their meeting point when two arms snaked around her waist. As a first instinct, she freed her wand from its holster with a small flick of her wrist almost in combat mode. Then the smell of who was holding her reached her nostrils. With the scare, the veela was enhancing her senses so she truly smelled her. Relaxing, she took her time to really enjoy the scent. The essence of Hermione (Black) Granger. She was dragged back to reality when she felt the girl chuckle and heard her best friend slash brother's voice.

"I believe she almost hexed you, 'Mione…" The smile was obvious in his voice.

"Nah, she knew it was me."

"'Mione, she drew her wand," Ginny added, pointing at her hand.

"She just came out of war and is an Auror. It's only natural."

"To end zis nonsensical banter: yes, I drew my wand, and yes, I would 'ave attacked eef I 'adn't smelled 'er. So yes, I knew eet was 'er in a second." Fleur moved so she was facing Hermione and her friends, and put her wand back into its holster.

"Good thing you know my smell then. What do I smell off?"

"Your favorite zings." Fleur knew she would have to elaborate, Hermione knew her smell was better than most. The lioness smiled and raised an eyebrow. "Books, old and new, ink, new parchment and pepper chocolate." She added, after pecking her on the lips.

Hermione beamed.

"What does parchment smell like? What the hell is the difference between old and new books?" Ginny murmured to Harry, he shrugged.

"They are some of my favorite smells." Luna smiled, not bothering to answer the redhead.

Fleur tuned out the trio conversation as she felt Hermione's breath near her ear.

"What were you thinking about that made you forget your surroundings?" Her voice was lower than usual, Fleur felt the start of a shifting and instinctively held the brunette closer to her.

"You." She answered simply. The blonde nipped the other woman earlobe and smiled at the quiet gasp she elicited from her.

"For Merlin's sake, there are first years around!" Ginny said, faking distress. Hermione and Fleur smiled at her and turned to resume their walk to lunch.

"Hey, you have practice after lunch, right?" Hermione asked, looking at Ginny, who simply nodded.

"I need to go see Madam Pomfrey after lunch to see if I can play too…" Harry mumbled.

Ginny nudged him. "I'm sorry, you are still taking those potions and I can't risk having you hurt before the game."

"And you are pretty reckless on a broom," Luna added.

Fleur smiled internally and exchanged a look with Hermione.

After lunch, all of them went to the hospital wing with the boy, except for the redhead who had to check the pitch and make sure the rest of the team was there. He knocked on the door and opened it. As the group entered, they saw the resident healer near a younger student who seemed to be in pain.

"Just a moment." She said, after seeing they were all in good shape. Returning her attention to the younger girl, she gave her a potion and told her to get some rest on the bed. After pulling the curtain around the bed, she turned towards them. "Ah, good. I was going to pay you a visit later. As you are all here… Sit, all of you." Fleur understood she meant her three companions and stood by Hermione's side holding her hand. The healer performed a series of diagnostic spells on each of them and seemed to be satisfied by their results. "I need to say, Miss Granger, the treatment you managed to ensure Miss Lovegood and yourself went through may have saved your lives. I'm still impressed. Although I shouldn't be. You are the brightest witch of your age after all." She said with a smile. "You are all getting better." She glanced at Hermione's left arm. "I hope it doesn't hurt much." She added apologetically, there was nothing she could do about the carving without knowing in what curses and potions the blade had been embedded. "Keep taking the potions as Cissy instructed and I'll go to you again in two days."

"Uhm, I've been meaning to ask you something…" Harry said as the healer seemed to be going to tend to another patient. She turned back to him and motioned him to continue. "As you know, the first match of the cup is approaching…"

"Yes, Mr. Potter you may go to practice. Just don't exaggerate, please. I don't need you collapsing in the middle of the pitch."

"I don't zink Ginny would let 'im, anyway." Fleur offered before Harry could say anything.

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey. And Fleur is kind of right…" Harry smiled at the healer that had treated him for his entire school career. "Ginny would kill me if I overwork myself." She smiled at him. "Thank you, I'll head to practice then." She nodded.

The three hopped off of the beds and they started their way towards the pitch.

"Perfect weather!" Hermione exclaimed, leaning on Fleur as they walked across the school's grounds on their way to the court. "Not too hot nor too cold, no rain yet it's not dry…" Fleur had to agree. Honestly, that was the main motive for her to like it so much in Britain.

"I personally like the snow better." Said Luna, smiling. "We can simply stay inside warming near the fireplace, reading a book and drinking something hot… And there's Christmas."

"Oh, speaking of Christmas…" Fleur said. "Maman and Grandmère are inviting everyone to our winter 'ouse at some time over zee 'olidays…" She and Hermione were yet to discuss this but she was sure that her girlfriend would like to have Harry, Ginny, and Luna there.

"Won't it be the first time Hermione meets them?" Luna asked, looking at Hermione, who simply nodded. Fleur felt how nervous the brunette was getting and squeezed her hand lightly in hopes to reassure her.

"Oui… We are yet to pin zee day we are going but I figured 'ermione would appreciate your company zere."

"We might go a few days before everyone but I really think we could use a change of sight…" Hermione added. They approached the field and saw Ginny dragging the balls' trunk into the field. Harry ran to her so he could help her.

"They are cute together…" Luna noted, looking at the couple in front of them.

"Yeah, but it would be even more so with the three of you, Lun," Hermione added, smiling at their friend who instantly blushed.

"Yeah, yeah…" Luna murmured.

Fleur remained silent, simply smiling. Luna knew she agreed with the brunette. As they entered the pitch, Ginny and Harry smiled at them. Fleur was uncertain if they were smiling at the three of them or only Luna and she and Hermione just happened to be near the Ravenclaw. The veela chose to believe it was the second option, having long admitted to herself she was a big romantic. Something Hermione had proof of every day, she was proud to say.

"Wanna play, Fleur?" Ginny asked, with a playful grin.

"Non." She held her girlfriend closer to her and smiled back at the team captain. "I just spent the whole morning away from 'ermione and 'ave no intent on spending any more time."

"Whipped."

"Proudly so." Fleur laughed.

"We will warm up as soon as the rest of the team gets here…" Ginny offered.

"We will watch from one of the stands…" Luna smiled.

They headed to one of the empty stands, some Gryffindor students were there to watch the practice as well and were beginning to fill most of them. Moire found them a bit later after the team had started taking leaps to warm up.

"Hey!" The girl smiled at the three of them. No other students had entered the stand they were in and the little girl seemed to be having a small battle inside herself. Fleur read her face with ease.

"'ello, Moire! Want to sit with us?" A grin spread to the younger lioness and she nodded.

"Where are your friends?" Hermione asked, smiling sweetly at her.

"They are waiting for me… I said I was only gonna say hi to you…"

"Don't they want to watch the practice with us? There's plenty space…" Hermione extended the invite.

"I'll ask them!" The girl jumped in place and practically skipped to the stairs.

"Quick, they will begin any time now!" Luna shouted as soon as the girl began to descend the stairs. Not longer than five minutes later, a group of five Gryffindors entered the stand, led by Hermione's miniature copy (not that they really looked alike).

"Moire, are you sure…?" She heard one of them whisper.

"Yep."

"But…"

"Good! You are here!" Hermione exclaimed, seconds before Fleur could welcome them. "They are beginning!"

"See?" Moire sounded a bit annoyed. Fleur couldn't keep herself from snickering, the girl was too adorable! Except for her, the younger Gryffindors kept their distance during most of the practice. The girl was clearly annoyed with the hesitation coming from her friends, Fleur found it sickening cute but absolutely understood them. The three of them had quite the reputation as war heroes and probably most of them had heard their parents talking about the brunette and telling them not to be in her way or annoy her… Fleur kissed her lioness on the temple, standing from where they were watching the game. The brunette quirked an eyebrow questioningly, she gave her a wide smile and motioned she would be back in no time. Moire had been leaning on Hermione as they watched the team basically ignoring her friends with annoyance. The blonde felt both gazes following her while she walked towards the first year's group.

"'ello! Why are you all zee way down 'ere?" She asked, making sure to smile reassuringly at the small group. They seemed to squirm a little and look at her with frightened doe eyes.

"Uhm…" One of the girls managed to say.

"Zee view from up zere ees quite a lot better and I'm sure Moire ees missing you…" She smiled once again, trying to make one of them talk to her. "What are your names? I'm sorry I didn't ask before…"

The girl that tried talking before took a breath, "I'm Kassidy…" (she was redheaded, almost as much as the Weasleys) and motioned to each of the other kids: "Blake," the blonde boy smiled, "Teagan," the brunette girl next to him waved "and Dallas" the raven-haired boy nodded.

"Pleasure to meet you!" She made sure to beam. "I'm Fleur! Zat pretty brunette over zere ees 'ermione and zee blondie ees Luna." Fleur was aware they know who they were but decided to introduce them anyway.

"We know…" The blonde murmured, receiving a badly disguised shove from his ginger friend and a glare from Teagan.

"Good. Now, don't you want to watch what's left of zee practice from up zere? I can assure you zat zee view ees really better from zere…" She chuckled. The first years exchanged a glance and got up, following Fleur as she climbed back to her seat. She introduced them to the two girls, who smiled and waved. Moire seemed to brighten as soon as she saw her friends following Fleur.

"Thank you for doing this…" Hermione whispered to her, kissing her cheek. She smiled at her girlfriend lovingly.

"So, you lot like Quidditch?" Luna asked the younger students happily. They all nodded.

"I don't really get it but I guess it's fun to watch…" Moire said.

Hermione smiled, "I don't either… And I hate flying."

"Oh come on, eet's quite easy to understand…" Fleur laughed.

"I get the rules, babe. What I don't get is the need to fly."

"That is the fun part!" Kassidy chimed in, smiling.

"Not really. It's bizarre to simply mount a broom and get off the ground!" Moire half muttered.

"Oh, come on! Once you get the grip you learn to love it!" Blake nudged Hermione's miniature.

"Hey! Ginny is trying that maneuver from the Harpies again!" Luna exclaimed. They all focused on the captain.

The redhead had caught the quaffle from the keeper and took off flying across the pitch almost making a beeline in the direction of the opposite goal posts. By the middle of the field, she and one of the other two chasers on her team came across each other then the other one did the same, they were all flying incredibly fast so it was almost impossible to know who had the ball. A bit before they got to the scoring area, one of them purposefully slowed down, holding the ball, but picked up the pace quickly. The three of them reached the line together on three different locations, only one entered the area and scored. Fleur noticed how united the team was, she was absolutely certain that maneuver wouldn't be possible if the team wasn't so tight. Ginny was indeed a great player and a crazy fan of the Harpies. She probably analyzed each and every maneuver they ever did. This one specifically forced the keeper to focus in only one chaser as their velocity could make anyone feel a little dizzy, it wasn't a fail-proof one as the keeper could choose the right chaser but if the chasers kept an eye on them they would easily enough predict who should try to score.

"WOW," Teagan exclaimed. "We are definitely going to win the cup." The other first yeas simply nodded. Fleur saw Luna beaming proudly from the corner of her eye and chuckled a little.

"Ginny is really good!" Kassidy stated.

"She wants to play professionally, she's going all in," Hermione informed smiling. The pride she felt for her best friend was obvious in her voice. "And she managed to get a dream team, apparently."

The practice ended shortly after. The Gryffindors began to go back to the castle, while their group stayed behind, near the exit of the locker room.

"We are waiting for Ginny and Harry…" Hermione informed the first years.

"Can we stay too?" Blake asked beaming.

"Sure."

It didn't take long for them to see the couple heading out of the pitch. Fleur smiled as Ginny got out of her way to thank Luna for watching, hugging her. Harry followed the redhead lead. The veela was standing right next to Hermione, her hand on the smaller of her back drawing senseless patterns over her clothes. The lioness leaned on her and kissed her cheek as a disguise to her whispered note: "They are cute together." Fleur simply nodded slightly.

"Eet seems you 'ave new fans, Gin!"

"I knew you would come to sense and notice my superiority in the sport!"

Fleur couldn't help but laugh. "HA! Never. I beat you anytime! I meant les petits." She corrected, motioning to the younger part of the group.

Teagan smiled widely and agreed with the veela. "You are fantastic!"

"Well, thank you!" Ginny held her right hand over her heart and bowed slightly.

"I'll cheer for any pro's you get in!" Moire exclaimed

"And you will get free tickets anytime you want to watch!" Ginny laughed.

"We still have about an hour until dinner, what do you want to do?" Luna asked.

"Oh, I desperately need a shower. You go ahead and I'll meet you at the Great Hall." Harry said, smiling.

"Me too. See you there?" Ginny held Harry's hand.

"Sure." Luna smiled at them

"'ey! Separate bathrooms!" Fleur exclaimed quickly before they took off.

Harry dipped his head and Ginny laughed. "Always, Fleur! Always…"

"Not according to 'ermione…"

"What are we doing until then?" Hermione asked as the couple left, the redhead laughing hard and the raven-haired clearly wanting to disappear. "Do you have any homework to do?" She asked the first years. Fleur laughed and kissed the side of her head.

"So studious…" She said shaking her head.

"Hey, it's important!"

"Sure is, Mon Ange. But you don't even know eef zey want to spend zis time with us."

"Can we?" Blake asked eagerly. All five young faces looked expectantly at them.

"Why could you not?" Luna asked, smiling.

"I don't know…" Dallas answered ruffling his own hair.

"We do have homework…" Moire said in a small voice, next to Hermione. "I was planning on doing it this afternoon but they dragged me to watch the practice…"

After a small conversation, they decided to head to the library where Hermione and Luna could show them the books they used as research during their first year. An hour later, they were leaving the library, the first years carrying at least two books each, Hermione and Luna smiling and happy for being able to help. They entered the Great Hall and saw Ginny and Harry sat in their usual spot.

"Oh! That's where you were…" Ginny smiled at them, seeing the books. "'Mione and Lun dragged you there?" She laughed.

"We needed research material for our homework…" Dallas answered, smiling and struggling to hold four different books (just as Moire was).

"I was dragged," Kassidy mumbled. Teagan nudged her.

Ginny laughed wholeheartedly. "Well, let's eat! I'm starving and we were only waiting for you." They all took a seat. Luna sat by Ginny's side, with Teagan on her other side, Dallas, and Kassidy by Harry. Fleur and Hermione sat in front of the couple with Blake and Moire (respectively) by their sides.

"Sorry for making you wait, Harry." Hermione smiled at her brother.

"No problem. She's far better than Ron…"

Blake nudged Fleur lightly and whispered: "Why is she apologizing to Harry and not Ginny?"

Harry heard the question and smiled. "Ginny is a Weasley, you see? There is nothing worse than a hungry Weasley."

"Why?" Dallas asked (but earned a nudge from Kassidy).

Ginny laughed. "We tend to get nervous and a bit aggressive…" She explained. "But these two grew up with the worse of us. I'm, by far, better than my brothers." Harry nodded.

"Ronald is the worse. Ginny actually listened to their mother's lessons of civility and etiquette. I guess she's the only one that learned something…"

"Oh, it can't be so bad…" Teagan said.

"Believe us, it is," Luna said.

"Bill ees just like Ronald. I usually carry something to eat with me every time we go to zee field. 'e gets reckless when 'e ees 'ungry…"

"Always keep a Weasley fed." Harry said.

They served themselves, following Ginny's lead as she eagerly served herself as soon as the conversation died. After dinner, they walked to the Gryffindor common room together, the first years excused themselves to sleep and the five older moved to the private living room.

"You managed to finish your 'omework?"

"I still have a few touches left, but the girls did…" Harry smiled tiredly.

"Actually, I still have half of the ancient runes' sheet to translate…" Hermione said taking the seat by Fleur's side on the couch they usually occupied.

"No 'omework from today?"

"We have the same classes Mondays and Tuesdays. So we don't."

"Harry and I have something from Muggle Studies but it's usually not much…" Ginny said.

Fleur nodded. They talked a bit but soon they were all yawning and decide to retire to their rooms early.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey guys! Yeah, you can kill me if needed... Sorry, really. Holidays and all...
> 
> Next chapter is kind of full-on fluff! I think you're gonna love!
> 
> ...
> 
> IN CASE YOU ARE WONDERING (it's not really important), I forgot to add all the names of the veelas of the research (it has been updated but if you don't want to go there, 'ere eet ees: (year/clan, location/name and blood status)
> 
> Year: 973 / Ruud Clan, Norway. / Aimée (full female veela) and Gaelle (full female veela)
> 
> Year: 1040 / Falk Clan, Sweden. / Naya (full female veela) and Tascha (full female veela)
> 
> Year: 1155 / Leclair Clan, France. / Ysabeau (full female veela) and Mahi (half female veela)
> 
> Year: 1394 / Acerbi Clan, Italy. / Piero (full male veela) and Luigi (full male veela)
> 
> Year: 1528 / Losnedahl Clan, Norway. / Aleksander (full male veela) and Freydís (half female veela)
> 
> Year: 1674 / Royer Clan, France. / Katherine (half female veela) and Diane (half female veela)
> 
> ....
> 
> Please review, I'm always pleased to learn what you think!
> 
> ;3
> 
> See Yah!
> 
> Shout out to Aussie (from fanfiction.net) who proofread this one...
> 
> PS: Oh, right, my other story is up. So go read it (I managed to keep it shortish) hope you like, please review it!
> 
> PPS: If you feel like sending me requests suggestions or prompts, feel free to reach me by PM or email me: celticdaughterfics (gmail)


	37. Chapter 36

Hermione is already dreading the end of the week. The week is too short in her opinion but at the same time, it was long enough to make her absolutely used to Fleur's presence. Too soon, it's Thursday night and she is restless thinking the blonde will have to leave in three days. She is deep in thought as she lays on her bed waiting for her girlfriend to get ready to sleep. Hermione is quite sure she is absolutely overthinking, she knows the blonde actually has permission to spend the night whenever she'd like to (thank Merlin Minerva actually likes them and apparently is willing to bend some rules for her - not that she understands why she does so). She feels the bed dip near her and soon enough a strong arm envelops her waist while a warm, feather-like kiss is placed over her shoulder blade. She shivered and leaned back into the body she is so going to miss after Sunday. The room was warm enough for her to go with a sleeveless shirt and some shorts. Fleur apparently had made the same choice.

"A kiss for a zought?" She feels the French woman smile against her, she smiles herself.

"Just… I'm gonna miss you." She answers, her voice not louder than a whisper and soon enough she is being turned around.

Fleur nudged her nose with her own, a sweet habit of hers now. "Me too. I guess we both got spoiled…" She said smiling and making Hermione smile too. Three words wander through her head and she is quite sure it is shown in her eyes because she sees cerulean/orange eyes soften. She can read the love in these eyes. The adoration was also clear before her. Hermione was absolutely sure that her eyes conveyed the exact same things.

"I'm certain I am." She beamed and leaned to kiss the blonde. A soft kiss, conveying her feeling for the woman in front of her. They were yet to exchange the words but she was sure Fleur knew how she felt.

"Uhm," She felt Fleur's grip around her tighten as the blonde held her closer, leaning into the kiss. It remained soft, but thinking about the end of the week made both of them need to feel each other closer. Ending the kiss only because breath was needed, Hermione snuggled into Fleur's neck, nuzzling it. The heartfelt kiss turned into an ever tight blonde kissed her temple and hummed again, delightfully. "Night…" She heard the woman murmur.

Kissing her neck softly (and making the blonde shiver, she was proud to say), she murmured back, "Umm night."

The next day came with a new worry. She had momentarily forgotten that Fleur and Ginny would have a one-on-one Quidditch match by the end of the day. Fleur was borrowing Harry's broom, that was set by the breakfast table. Hermione was absolutely quiet, nervousness seeping into her. That was ridiculous, Fleur had probably the most dangerous job in Britain and yet there she was fearing for her wellbeing over a Quidditch match. She breather deeply and moved her attention from the conversation to the soothing circles Fleur was drawing on her thigh. After she had calmed enough, she tuned in the conversation again, in time to hear both girls agreeing on setting a smaller field for them. Ginny, using her captain perks, had already booked the pitch for them to play in the evening. She tuned out again as she leaned on Fleur's shoulder, taking advantage of her proximity to really calm down a bit. She was actually a bit sleepy now, she closed her eyes and snuggled a bit further into the blonde, who moved slightly so she could hold her by the waist. A peck over the top of her head. An ever quiet promise, "I'll take care, Mon Ange." making she acknowledge it with a small nod. She knows. But she can't stop herself from worrying. Fleur was free to spend the day with her, the task of talking about her job had ended the day before. It took her the whole day, much to their chagrin. Thinking back, it was probably what made Hermione think about Sunday. Thankfully, seeing she would have to spend most of the day away from Fleur, she set her mind on finishing absolutely every homework she had left, coming to the length of asking the Headmistress if it would be possible to have the next day's homework too. So she was absolutely free after breakfast. The others still had some to finish so they headed to the library, knowing full well that she went berserk the day before with the school work so she could spend some extra time with Fleur.

They walked silently, holding hands. The lightness of the moment making them smile widely. They made their way to their usual spot (under a tree, by the lake) mindlessly. It didn't surprise them at all when they found themselves there. Fleur sat down, leaning on the tree and tugged Hermione's hand guiding her so she would sit in between her legs, facing the lake. The blonde adjusted their position so they were both comfortable and wrapped her arms around Hermione's stomach. Her chin rested against the brunette's shoulder after a soft kiss on her neck. They sat in silence, enjoying each other and the view.

"I've always looked forward to 'aving zis." The blonde admitted in a small voice. Hermione stayed quiet, only squeezing her arm slightly to let her know she was listening. "I grew up with tales about mates and 'ow beautiful eet was but 'ow incredibly difficult eet was to find zem. Most veela acknowledge eet ees almost impossible and temporarily mate with other unmated veela as to not live zeir life alone. I guess my family ees really lucky. Grandmére, Maman, and, now, me. Eet's actually unusual to 'ave so many in one family with true mates. But I 'ope Gaby finds hers…" The silence that followed was calm, almost as if the blonde was letting all she said sink into Hermione. She nuzzled the brunette unconsciously and held her tighter. "I 'oped I would find my mate but I guess I've never really believed zat…" Hermione felt like melting. The way Fleur was saying this made her sure that the other woman had never really admitted it to anyone. "Thank you." The blonde added silently, kissing the nape of her neck and hiding her face there, letting her hair cover her face. Hermione leaned on the touch but couldn't quite wrap her mind around what she was being thanked for. She turned carefully (unfortunately dislodging Fleur) so she could look at her.

"What for?" She asks softly.

"For being you. And wanting to be with me, even zough I know zis whole mates zing ees overwhelming… And accepting me as I am…" She was still hiding her face.

"Hey…" Hermione reached for he chin and made her look into her eyes. "If you need to thank me, then I need too." She placed a soft kiss on Fleur's lips. "Thank you."

"But…"

"No. You are amazingly patient, you always make sure I'm comfortable and taken care, you came here and stayed simply because you noticed I wouldn't have any nightmares if you were there. YOU accept me as I am, you don't care about my status…" She smiled. They were facing each other now, she caressed Fleur's cheek and looked deep into cerulean eyes. So deep that she didn't need the flick of color that happened a second after to be sure her veela had listened and understood. She pressed her forehead against Fleur's, never looking away from her eyes. "Je t'aime." The look of surprise on the blonde's face almost made her laugh. She beamed at her as she saw her words sink in. A second later she was being tackled into the ground, a deep kiss being delivered.

"Je t'aime aussi…" was whispered as they broke the kiss and simply hugged.

* * *

Her heart fluttered as Hermione started thanking her. She leaned on her hand and her touch on her cheek. She felt her veela purring, she herself felt like purring (they were one after all). She almost didn't register what the brunette said after a while locking eyes.

"Je t'aime." What?! She felt her eyes go wide in surprise. Well, not really surprising. She actually knew it, those words were simply… She launched to the smiling woman in front of her, tackling her, kissing her deeply. She said it in French. Oh, fucking Merlin!

"Je t'aime aussi…" she whispered, into her neck while hugging her happily.

* * *

Thinking back, she should have expected being tackled. It was quite obvious how her speaking French (even if it was only a little bit) affected the blonde. They resumed their previous position, looking at the view, this time it was Hermione who was holding Fleur and leaning on the tree. The comfortable silence allowed her to think. Not that her thoughts went far from where they were, she was thinking about Fleur. Why wouldn't she? Hermione leaned and pressed a kiss on her cheek, feeling the smile the other woman had on. Looking away, she strengthened her grip around her waist.

"I could stay here all day…" She murmured.

"Ummm, me too." She felt the blonde press herself against her. "You are still worried about zee game, aren't you?"

Hermione stayed silent, nuzzling her neck a bit savoring her scent. After a few seconds, she simply hummed in accordance. "I know it's stupid. Just can't help it…"

"Not stupid. You can't ever be stupid."

"But it is. You have probably the most dangerous job in the magical world and here I am, distressed over you playing a stupid game." She was actually annoyed with herself. She knew Fleur would be careful, she always was. Her job was indeed far more dangerous than the game.

"Umm, you being worried about me ees understandable, Mon Reine," Fleur stated, caressing her right thigh near her knee. Seriously, every French pet name the blonde called her, she felt like turning into gay goo in an instant. "I understand you are afraid of heights?"

"It's more about the circumstance than the height itself." She shook her head a bit. "It's still a bit odd the idea of an actual flying broom. In most muggle tales the witch flies in a broom." She laughed at this. "At least they got this right…" She felt Fleur giggle a bit too. "I guess I don't really wrap my mind around me flying… I don't have a problem when I have my feet fixed on the floor."

"But you still travel around in zose airplanes, non?"

"Yes, but… There is something floor-like under my feet. And I usually don't look through the windows." She felt a bit silly about all that. "But a broom isn't the worst thing I fled on." Fleur turned to her, an eyebrow raised. "Thestrals. And I didn't even see them at the time." She chuckled a bit at the memory. "Fucking terrifying."

"Zat's 'ow you got to Zee Ministry on your fifth year, non?" She nodded. "Quite brave." The French woman smiled at her. "I believe I'd never 'op up on something I couldn't see." They laughed.

"Don't even get me started with Buckbeak…" She added after catching her breath.

"At least you could see 'im." Fleur teased.

"True…" She suddenly got aware that the blonde was trying her best (and succeeding) to distract her from the game. "Thank you…" she said after their laughter died. And she knew she didn't need to say anything else. She kissed her neck shortly.

"Any time…" She heard her murmur.

By then it was almost lunch time and most students were filling out, or so she guessed by the distant noise coming from the castle. Not long after she came to that conclusion, the clock shimmed. Fleur got up and held out a hand to help her (she gladly took it). They started their way back hand in hand, both fairly happy. Fleur stopped on her tracks midway and pulled her until she had both her arms wrapped around her and simply kissed her deeply. Hermione looked at her a bit surprised as they pulled back.

"What was that for?" She asked, smiling.

"I just felt like eet," Fleur said, her eyes flashed orange for a few seconds and then went back to blue. "Do I 'ave to 'ave a motive to kiss you?" She asked, pouting a bit.

Hermione couldn't help but laugh at this display and lean in to kiss that small (absurdly cute) pout. "No. You. Can. Kiss. Me. Whenever. You. Want." She punctuated each word with a kiss, after nibbling her lower lip. She pulled back and was met by her beaming girlfriend. Fleur kissed her again. "But we should go…" She added lightly as they parted lips.

"Bien…" Fleur muttered but didn't let go of Hermione. The lioness chuckled at it but turned in place so the French woman was able to keep holding her (who was she kidding? It was fucking comfortable…) and started walking again. She smiled as she felt Fleur's chin rest on her shoulder blade.

Lunch went uneventfully. Until one courageous boy (she had to give him that) stepped into the group's view after they finished eating. None of them knew him (that was quite an accomplishment), but he was wearing Hufflepuff's uniform and seemed to be around the same age as Ginny. They all looked at him quizzically. He stuttered.

"Erm… Hi…" He looked at the five of them and then settled on Fleur.

"Bonne après-midi," Fleur sounded annoyed, Hermione didn't even need to look at her to know that the smile that had been there less than a minute before was gone. And replaced by a frown. She instead looked at her friends, she saw Ginny gulp (looking between the couple in front of her and the Hufflepuff), Harry stared at the boy the whole time (obviously not believing in what was happening) and Luna was looking at her, smiling. She looked at her girlfriend, feeling the woman hold her by the waist. She was simply looking at him with a raised eyebrow, waiting for him to continue. Except for Fleur, none of the others had greeted him and no one planned on doing so.

"Mhm…" Hermione was seriously hoping he would just turn around and leave them. No such luck. "I-I was wo-onderi-ing i-if yo-you…" Fleur raised her hand before the boy could finish whatever he was going to say. Her other hand was drawing senseless patterns on the lioness' waist as to calm them both.

"For fuck's sake…" Hermione muttered. She heard Ginny hold her breath and saw Harry try and stand up (he was held back by Ginny and Luna). Fleur looked at her, any trace of annoyance left her face as soon as the locked eyes. Without a word exchanged between the two of them, Hermione kissed her lips. She, then, looked up to see the boy still standing there looking nervous. "Clueless" she muttered again. Ginny called her in a whisper, knowing what the redhead wanted she didn't even bother looking at her. Taking a deep breath, she noticed that the usually loud hall was silent and noticed that the attention from everyone was in the exchange. Fleur muttered something in French. She really needed to learn that language more deeply.

"Uhm," It was Ginny who spoke up first. The boy looked at her seemingly lost. "You are kind of disturbing us. Fleur is obviously not interested as everyone, minus you, apparently, can see and honestly you are starting to annoy us, especially Hermione by the looks she is giving you. I honestly don't think you want to see any of us annoyed or angry particularly not her. So I'd just walk away if I were you." The boy seemed to startle and notice the looks that they were all giving him, he left, holding his breath.

"That. Was. Something." Hermione heard Moire's voice on her side. She had forgotten that the first-years were by their side.

"Thank you, Gin…" She said, sighing.

"It was nothing. I honestly wanted to see you hex him to oblivion but then I remembered I'm Head Girl…" The redhead laughed.

"You were about to…" She heard the French woman start, but she stopped after looking at her and noticing how she was clutching her wand.

"I trust everything is solved…" McGonagall approached with a frown.

"Yes, 'eadmistress. We are sorry zat we disturbed zee lunchtime."

"It wasn't you, Miss Delacour. Good thinking, Miss Weasley. I believe you saved us from quite a show." She smirked at Hermione, who looked at her sheepishly. "You should probably holster your wand now, Miss Granger, the students are starting to get uneasy. I hope you have a good afternoon." She left after acknowledging the rest of the Gryffindors near them.

"I think you made her go soft, 'Mione…" Ginny snickered after making sure the Headmistress was out of hearing range. Hermione simply shook her head and leaned into Fleur (who simply held her tighter). Their friends laughing.

With everything, Hermione had actually forgotten all about the game between Fleur and Ginny. Her worries were back with full force as soon as they started their way towards the pitch. She felt the veela hold her by the waist in an attempt to calm her down.

"I must confess I really zink you look quite 'ot when you are jealous, ma Reine," Fleur whispered. Hermione smiled a bit, feeling her cheeks warm. "You were really about to 'ex 'im?"

"Umm, honestly it was out of reflex. I didn't really think about it. But I guess I should try and control my jealousy…"

"You know you 'ave no reason to be, 'ermione."

"Yes, but-"

"You can't control your feelings. I know zat, mon chérie." Fleur cut her off, smiling. "I can't 'elp feeling jealous of you either. Although my veela part ees a bit more… aggressive than I would like."

"Oh?" Hermione looked at Fleur with a raised eyebrow.

Fleur blushed lightly as her eyes flicked. "…"

"Aggressive?"

"Oui…" That was said with Hermione looking into orange orbs. She shot the blonde woman a look. "Ok, I might imagine ripping some eyes out of your admirers' face…" She added in a murmur.

That was new. Seeing Fleur get embarrassed was definitely unusual. Hermione smirked and shook her head.

"Fleur, you ready?" Their attention was brought back to me present but Ginny, who was standing in the middle of the field holding a quaffle, already on her training gear. Fleur quickly put on the gear she had borrowed from Harry and nodded. She quickly pecked Hermione's lips and smiled at her (Hermione was sure her worry was showing on her face).

"Be careful…" She whispered to the blonde who simply nodded and moved to meet Ginny. Harry was exiting the locker-room, carrying three brooms. She assumed he was going to be used as a referee.

"We should head up…" She heard Luna's dreamy voice coming from beside her. Nodding, she turned and started to climb the stair to the stand with the Ravenclaw and the group of younger Gryffindors. She caught herself watching the 'game' closely, with her wand clutched in her hand, nervous as hell. She actually ignored any attempt of conversation coming from the rest of the group watching, although she did hear Luna telling the younger students to give up trying to talk to her as she was too tense to let herself be distracted. Nothing happened (she was deeply relieved when Harry ended the game). Except for a tie, they had a restricted time.

A tie.

She already knew Ginny was great (more than that, actually) but finding out that Fleur was, probably, just as much talented was something. Not really a surprise, her blonde seemed to exceed on basically anything she put her head on. Wait. Her?

Well, yeah. She was allowed to call her that. They were girlfriends after all… Not that Hermione was really expecting to be so clingy and possessive.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey guys! Yeah, you can kill me if needed... Sorry, really...
> 
> As promised: Lots o fluff and a bit comedy bc come on, jelly 'Mione...
> 
> Please comment, I'm always pleased to learn what you think! Leave me kudos if you liked!
> 
> ;3
> 
> See Yah!
> 
> PS: Oh, right, my other story is up. So go read it (I managed to keep it shortish) hope you like, please review it!
> 
> PPS: If you feel like sending me requests suggestions or prompts, feel free to reach me by PM or email me: celticdaughterfics (gmail)


	38. Chapter 37

Fleur was hopping out of the broom when she heard their spectators reach the end of the stand's stairs.

"I hope you had fun playing today, Gin…" She heard Luna teasing voice (it wasn't really common for her, but it came from time to time), "because, from what I gathered from 'Mione's expressions, I don't think she will ever let Fleur mount a broom again."

The veela raised an eyebrow at her girlfriend, deciding to tease her a bit. "So you don't trust my 'abilities on a broom, Belle?" Hermione (who until then had a sheepish smile plastered on her face) narrowed her eyes at her a bit, then smirked.

"Oh, I do. Believe me, I do. I know how stubborn you can be when doing something you decided to do. I'm sorry if my terrible best friends ruined the game to me…"

"Oi!" Harry reacted as Ginny said: "Hey!"

"Well, you two have to admit that you have both been injured quite a few times over the years you play…" Luna noted, giggling.

"But she hates flying! That's why she doesn't like the game!" Harry mumbled.

Fleur took notice of the group of younger Gryffindors chuckling from behind Hermione and Luna. And smiled at how amused they seemed to be by this friendly banter.

"She was literally clutching her wand, Harry. As if fearing Fleur would suddenly fall from her broom." Luna said with a smile playing on her mouth.

"Which does sound like something Harry would do…" Ginny laughed.

"No fair!" Harry mumbled.

"You did fall from your broom quite a few times, Harry…" Hermione smiled at him. "But you did too, Gin. As did Ron."

Fleur stood between Harry and Ginny simply observing the four friends tease each other. It was good to see how they were indeed better, the past week made them relax quite a bit. Even she had relaxed.

"But most of mine were due to someone trying to kill me…" Harry argued. (Fleur heard the younger pride gasp lowly, that was probably the first time they heard any mention of Harry's deeds from his own mouth) "Quirrel first, then dementors…" He raised two fingers, trying to count the falls. "Dragon-"

"Show-off. You didn't fall during the first task." Ginny smirked, crossing her arms. "You are saying this because they are here." She motioned to the younger group that was (obviously) listening closely.

"It did try to kill me…" He mumbled again.

"Eet was protecting eet's eggs. Zee dragon would 'ave tried to kill anyone who approached, 'arry." Fleur intervened. "Mine tried to kill me too, remember?"

"You put it to sleep, Fleur." The blonde grinned at Hermione's phrase.

"That was quite impressive, I might say." Ginny smiled at the veela

"I almost caught on fire, 'ermione."

"It snored." The lioness smiled at her with her eyebrow raised, looking unimpressed. The younger Gryffindors laughed at this.

"Whatever," She muttered but moved to give the brunette a peck on the lips. "You are ruining my reputation." She whispered playfully.

"What reputation?" Hermione countered, giving her a peck on the cheek before taking off in the direction of the castle. Harry chose that moment to collect the brooms and go lock them up in the locker-room. Fleur sped after her as soon as she gave him his broom back. She could hear the brunette's laugh. She chased after her girlfriend laughing at her antics.

The group reached the Great Hall laughing, Hermione slightly breathless.

"A little rusty, 'Mione?" Harry joked as they calmly walked to their usual spot at the Gryffindor table.

"Guess so…" The lioness laughed, as she leaned on Fleur.

Ginny, Luna, and Harry rounded the table so they could sit across from them. The younger Gryffindors had bid them farewell as soon as they entered the castle. After dinner, they were expected at the Hospital wing to see how they were going with the treatment. Fleur kissed the side of Hermione's head as they walked there. The brunette smiled at her and lightly squeezed her arm that was around her waist. Harry knocked on the door before opening it. They entered the room, the smell of a few healing potions was obvious to Fleur but she knew it wasn't at all clear to the others. She had always been able to smell a bit more then most so she was used to this smell at any healing place.

"I'll be there in a minute!" They heard Madam Pomfrey say from her office. The healer obviously had a calm afternoon as no student was on the premises. Luna moved to the nearest bed and sat there, knowing that would be the first thing the healer would ask them to do. Hermione followed her suit and hopped on the bed next to the blonde. Fleur located herself in between Hermione's legs and let herself be embraced by her. Luna was in front of them being flanked by Harry and Ginny (each had a hand on her leg, clearly trying to calm her a little). They talked a bit while waiting.

"Why is the potion smell so strong here if there's no one being treated now?" Hermione asked the group.

"Uh, 'Mione, there's no strong smell here…" Ginny answered after sniffing the air a bit. Harry and Luna simply nodded.

Fleur calmly turned on the brunette's arms.

"Can you describe what you are smelling?" She asked with a small smile. She saw the realization come to Hermione as soon as they crossed eyes.

The lioness nodded before taking a deep breath. "I'd say the room smells like three different potions… Healing potions." She said after a bit. "Uhh, it's bitter and sweet at the same time. Salty too." Fleur smiled widely at her and pecked her lips. "Sleeping Draught, Antiseptic potion and Burn-healing paste?" The lioness added after thinking a little. Fleur nodded after taking her time to identify the potions.

"I zink so…" After pecking her cheek, she turned to face their dumbfounded friends.

"That is the usual smell around here when we have patients." Madam Pomfrey had reached them while she was focused on the brunette.

Fleur smiled at the older witch and focused on the others. "We'll explain later…" She felt Hermione nod behind her. The healer began the checkup on both girls as soon as they laid on the beds.

"Narcissa asked me to keep her posted, she couldn't come tonight. She says Draco is currently trying to locate Miss Lestrange's notebooks and the blade."

"Thank you, Madam Pomfrey." Hermione smiled.

"Well, I obviously would prefer to keep you two under rest for some more time but I know you are well taken care of and you probably decided you have rested enough." The healer continues after nodding. "You still have to take the potions as they help to stabilize the after-effects of the curse, and I still want to see you twice before the end of next week. You are good to go back to your normal activities." She added. "I'm really happy to see you two are doing better. Miss Granger, any discomfort with your arm? Narcissa said you should let her know immediately if something changes regarding your arm."

"No. It's pretty much the same. It doesn't bleed anymore thanks to the potion but still hurts a bit." Hermione shrugged and looked at her arm (the bandages and scar were under a Concealment Charm).

They left the Hospital wing in a lighter mood, Hermione, Ginny and Luna happy to be able to get back to school work (Harry not so much).

"Uh, what was that about the smell?" Ginny asked quietly leaving unspoken that if they weren't comfortable explaining they could simply change the subject. Fleur was really happy that Hermione's friends were far from prying people and were absolutely respectful of her heritage.

The brunette looked at her as if asking for permission to talk. She smiled and hugged the woman, trying to remember what they had told them. She was certain Ginny was aware they were mates, but apart from it, she wasn't sure they said something else. But they were still walking on the corridors and as far as she was aware, those walls could listen (quite literally, given the high number of paintings).

"Uh…" Hermione began bringing her back to the moments. "We should get to our the common room first…"

"Oh! Sure…" Ginny smiled softly.

As they entered the room, Hermione called Dobby and asked him if he could bring them something to drink, he left excitedly and came back a few minutes later with their hot beverages of choice.

"Thank you, Dobby!" Hermione smiled at him.

"Dobby, we will need some privacy for now…" Fleur began. "I trust you understand I can't 'ave anyone other zen zem 'earing."

"Dobby will let the other elves that they are not to come here today." He smiled at the couple. "And if the Misses need Dobby, just step outside and call Dobby." With that, he vanished.

"Uhm…" Harry looked at them quizzically.

"'e knows zat some zings are better kept away from prying eyes… As a magical creature, 'e knows some of us are more restrict about who can know about certain zings. Like us veelas… When I asked for privacy, 'e caught on with zee subject." Fleur tried to explain. The other three seemed to have accepted as they sat quietly, obviously recognizing how serious the next subject was. Hermione moved quickly, Fleur saw her conjuring a patronus and send it to McGonagall (she guessed). They waited a second and a cat patronus came back with a short word of agreement. Fleur blocked the floo access to the fireplace with a quick spell. With a quick glance at each other, veela and lioness started to protect the room to make sure no one could hear them in any way or have access to anything said there. Their friends watched them working together as if they had known each other since birth. Harry and Ginny watching awestruck and Luna smiling widely. Fleur watched them from the corner of her eyes measuring their reactions. She knew she could trust them and knew the Ravenclaw had a better grasp on her culture and might be able to help the other two understanding everything she said. She knew that even having read about it more deeply then Luna, Hermione would have some difficulty explaining because she was experiencing everything (it could get deeper than the other couple could grasp at first). The couple sat in front of their friends somewhat nervous.

"Why don't you explain the mating thing?" Luna suggested, noticing they had no idea of how to begin. The redhead and raven-haired nodded.

Hermione took a deep breath, taking the lead. Fleur felt the confidence emanating from her and smiled, knowing the younger woman felt like knowing enough to be able to explain it to her friends. The brunette unconsciously relaxed and leaned a little on her.

"Right. Ok. I know you already know a bit about it but I'll go over it again so we are actually able to explain everything." The older lioness began, their friends nodding, "The veela culture is very particular about a series of things, they have a specific way to see the world and every exchange happening around them. Their understanding of relationships is probably the most simple and yet most complicated aspect of their culture that relates to Humans, magic or not. Although it's unusual for veelas to relate with Muggles. As far as I understand, that knowledge comes from their ancestors." Fleur nodded with pride, that being the first time she saw Hermione speak about something she knew she was capable of making others understand. "Veelas are able to see the threads that connect us to each other. Especially when it's related to love, romantic love specifically. So they have a special understanding of it. When they say mates, they talk about those threads. My guess is that as they have a deeper perception of it, they also are more deeply affected. Usually, the concept of mating is used when there's a veela involved, but it is actually present to everyone. In a less deep grasp, obviously. Everyone is capable of having a mate, as conceptually it could be resumed as soul juncture. A person's soul recognizes another's as 'the one' when they are ready, what explains what happened between Fleur and me. Sometimes the human soul recognizes two other souls, so a few humans have two mates at the same time…" Fleur saw Luna's eyes widen with what she read as hope. She noticed Hermione was smirking and was sure the other woman had said that intentionally. "To humans, it could be described as a deep love, sometimes it goes as far as dying for each other but the threads between humans aren't as strong as the ones involving a veela. Veelas are deeply connected to their souls, their magical core being based on their feelings. It is only logical that the way they connect souls is deeper. Most of the studies about veela are right when they say that mated veela are incapable of living long after their mate is dead. When they mate, they merge souls, profoundly, to the point of being referred as one. When a mate dies, it is described as deep soul fracture, the other mate is left basically with only part of a soul." Hermione now was passionately talking, gesticulating with one of her hands (the other placed securely on Fleur's). Ginny, Luna, and Harry were absolutely enraptured by her, all of them grimaced at the last part and glanced at Fleur.

She squeezed the lioness' hand to indicate she wanted to talk, after feeling a light squeeze back, she smiled and began talking. "Anyone zat 'as veela blood ees related to zeir mates zat way." She felt the need to confirm what she was sure they already knew. "When we find our mates outside zee veela culture, zee connection can affect zem in various levels. Eet ees still more profound zan zee common connection between 'umans, necessarily, but ees usually less zan between two veela. But eet depends on 'ow zey accept zee mating and zee veela. As you know, zee mating ees sealed when zey 'ave sex. Poetically, eet ees zee moment zat both get rid of all zat ees not zem, any disguise zey 'ave to zee rest of zee world. Zee climax ees zat moment. Eet connects both souls and merges zem." She was smiling at the thought. Hermione took the hand she was holding and softly kissed it. "After zee mating, eef zey are both veela, zey usually can reach each other and communicate, one always knows 'ow zee other ees feeling. Eef one of zem ees 'uman, zee veela mate ees always capable of doing so but usually zee 'uman part doesn't. But eet depends on 'ow devoted zee 'uman ees to zeir connection. After mating, zee veela develops some specific kinds of thrall, zat affects only zeir mate even eef zey are also veela. Eet's usually to stabilize zee other, to calm zee other for example. Zanks to zat connection, zee veela ees able to feel when zeir mate ees distressed or in danger." Fleur saw Ginny's eyes widen.

"You can know if the other is distressed or anxious?" The redhead repeated. Fleur could practically see the engines turning in her head, coming to the conclusion she was expecting from the ginger. "But I thought you and 'Mione hadn't…" She eyed her best friend suspiciously.

"We didn't!" Hermione was quick to answer, straightening herself immediately. She nudged Fleur lightly. "You really had to explain it in that order?" Fleur simply laughed and kissed the lioness' head.

"Uh… What am I loosing here?" Harry asked, looking at the three girls. Luna eyed them too.

"Last Friday, when I went to Fleur's, she was already awake and before I could say anything, she asked what happened. I was a little freaked out because her eyes were different, completely orange and kind of glowing. I kind of didn't realize it was her, at first. But she seemed to be aware that something happened." Ginny explained, making the scarred men look at them in shock and Luna to snicker.

"We are not mated. Not yet, anyway…" Hermione said firmly.

"Everything I said usually 'appens after the mating process, as I already said. But just as sometimes zee 'uman mate ees capable of connecting with zee veela zee same way a veela would, sometimes eet can 'appen before."

"The thing is: it's absolutely rare," Hermione added, leaning on Fleur once again. "Actually, there are exactly six reported occurrences of it in the last thousand years in continental Europe."

"And each ees absolutely unique, but still, all zat occurrences 'appened between full or part veelas. Never a 'uman was involved." Fleur added. "We only know zis because we reached my family as soon as we noticed zose uncommon 'appenings. What Grandmére sent us was zeir research about eet. But since eet apparently never 'appened before and zee cases we know of are unique, we 'ave absolutely no idea of what might 'appen before and after zee mating."

"That's AWESOME!" Luna reacted as she noticed they had stopped talking. Hermione snickered at Luna's reaction. Harry and Ginny seemed to be absolutely shocked.

"Until now, we identified that awareness from Friday which goes both ways, by the way, the thrall thing, that Fleur used on me while we were talking to McGonagall," Hermione added. "And now, that smell thing…"

"A few highly connected 'uman mates are able to evolve zeir senses to match the veela's," Fleur explained. "But it's also extremely rare."

"Wow!" was the only thing Ginny seemingly was able to say. After a couple of minutes, Harry's expression went from 'in shock' to 'absolutely fucking happy'. He leaned on the couch and beamed at them, Fleur could see how happy he was for them. A few seconds later, Ginny shot up and hugged them both. "I…" She began to say to Fleur as she hugged her. "I'm sorry."

"What for?" She asked, confused.

"I should have…" The redhead was crying now.

"Gin?" Hermione got closer as soon as she saw her friend on the verge of sobbing.

"I'm sorry. You shouldn't have had to be worried about my reaction to you liking Fleur. I…"

"Hey…" Harry approached them with Luna, worried. "There was no way for you to know…"

"But I should have known how 'Mione felt about her!"

"Gin, breathe." Hermione made the redhead look at her. "Even I didn't know. Harry lived with me for almost a year, we were away. He noticed because he was closer at the time. Then I isolated myself with Mom and Dad, you had almost no contact with me. When I realized, you were the first I told. Harry made me realize it, to be honest…"

"But Luna…"

"To be honest, I only knew about Fleur's end. I noticed how she was always near and how she fought with us during the last battle and how she basically never left 'Mione's side and when she did, Hermione never left her sight." Luna said, caressing Ginny's back. Fleur felt her cheeks burn when she felt Hermione's eyes bore in her face, with a smirk. Ginny managed to calm down, she was still hugging her, Hermione was at their side, hugging both; Harry and Luna on their other side both caressing Ginny's back, the man kissing the side of her head.

"Calm down, woman!" Hermione laughed. "No harm was done! We are all here… And you gave her a chance as soon as I told you."

"I zink eet was actually my food zat changed 'er mind!" Fleur said, making them all laugh.

"Absolutely possible!" "Weasleys!" "Hey! It was a fucking amazing dinner!" Harry, Luna, and Ginny said. Hermione swatted her arm lightly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey guys! Yeah, you can kill me if needed... Sorry, really...
> 
> Please comment, I'm always pleased to learn what you think!  
> And give me Kudos!
> 
> ;3
> 
> See Yah!
> 
> PS: If you feel like sending me requests suggestions or prompts, feel free to reach me by PM or email me: celticdaughterfics (gmail)


	39. Chapter 38

The next day, Fleur woke up a bit sad. Well, that's an understatement. She only had one more night sleeping by Hermione's side, she was sure she would have some difficulty to really rest without her. She stayed there, holding her and made no movement to disentangle their legs, she watched the lioness sleep, her calm breaths and felt her chest raising calmly. With a sigh, she felt the brunette snuggle more into her and smiled. A couple of minutes later, she felt her stir.

"Good morning, ma Reine" she whispered, kissing her shoulder softly. She knew the younger woman was already awake. Hermione had the habit of waking up rather quickly, probably something she acquired during the war. She wished she could erase that year from her life, protect her from so much hurt. But she knew only after all that she had found her. Their souls were wise, she was sure they would probably break if they had found each other before.

"'Morning, babe…" Hermione mumbled, turning to see her face. They smiled at each other, the sleeping faces only making them even more beautiful in their opinion. Fleur leaned in and kissed her softly, holding her close.

"'ungry?" She asked, knowing the answer. Hermione had hidden her face on her shoulder, she was absolutely sure the lioness was sniffing her neck and smiled. She nudged the brunette's ear with her nose. "uhm?"

"Yeah. But I really want to stay here. You're comfy."

"You'll get grumpy in 'alf an 'our and will ask me why I 'avent fed you or got you your morning dosage of caffeine yet."

"No, I won't."

"Oui. You will. Let's go 'ave breakfast and zen we can 'ead back 'ere and 'old each other zee rest of zee day." She spoke softly. "Or we can stay out and 'old each other by zee lake." She felt her smile against her neck.

"Okay." They slowly disentangled themselves and changed to head down.

* * *

As they reached the living room, what seemed to be an official paper from the ministry flew in from the fireplace. It landed on the coffee table and unfolded itself. They both went to see what it was. Fleur's name was obvious on the first line and Hermione decided not to read and wait the other woman decide if she should read it.

"WHAT?!" Fleur exclaimed as soon as she finished reading. She was fuming.

The fireplace glowed green and the eldest Weasley stepped in, very disheveled. "Shit! It got here before me…"

"What zee fuck, William?" Hermione reached Fleur as soon as she noticed how distraught she was and started drawing small patterns on her waist. She could see Fleur's nails lengthening, clearly not a good sign. She took the official paper from her hands, deciding she should know what was it that made the French woman so angry.

"Shit."

"What's happening?" Ginny asked the other three residents reached the end of the stairs, obviously having just wakened up. "Bill?"

The older man ignored his sister as to make sure the veela wouldn't charge for him. "Fleur, we received a hunch, I instructed the team to only keep watch on him, from a reasonable distance. I knew you wanted to be the one to catch him. The leader of the team apparently decided that he could use the glory. The man escaped after their poor job trying to get near him."

"Zat ees exactly what I could read 'ere, William!" Fleur spat at him. "Why didn't you go?" She sighed after breathing deeply a few moments. Hermione hoped she was helping by simply holding her, she didn't know what else to do. The silence stretched a bit more, Hermione used that moment to look at Harry and Ginny to mouth 'Malfoy' after making sure they would be able to understand. The surprised/scared looks on their faces told her they had understood.

"I'm sorry Fleur. We will find him again."

"Bill." She glared. From the way the man flinched, he was met with orange orbs.

"I thought he could follow orders. It was simple, keep watch on him." Bill sighed, looking pained. "We had an arrest to make simultaneously. Tonks personally asked me to do it. She couldn't go."

"Who?"

"Fleur…"

"Who, William?"

"Ronald." He sighed.

"WHAT?" "Ron?" "Branleur!" "Oh fuck…" Ginny, Harry, Fleur, and Hermione exclaimed at the same time.

"Since when is he able to follow any instruction?" Luna said calmly. They all looked at her at the same time.

Hermione snickered, it was true. But she made sure to keep the veela from moving as soon as the shock of hearing his name wore off. She embraced Fleur, slipping a hand under the hem of her shirt, certain that the skin contact would make her calm down faster. Feeling her sigh and relax a little, Hermione looked into her eyes. The anger was still there but was getting controlled.

"Was anyone hurt?" She asked, breaking eye contact. She could see Fleur was worried but too angry to ask without shouting.

"No. Malfoy simply disapparated as soon as he noticed their presence."

She heard Ginny release the breath she was holding. "What an idiot!" The redhead exclaimed.

"I spent the rest of the night making sure they would be punished."

Fleur sighed once more, holding the bridge of her nose. "Bill, please make sure to keep your brother from my face. I'm not sure I'll be able not to rip 'im into pieces eef I see 'im."

"I suspended him. He'll not be back until a month from now."

"I suggest you still keep them apart even them," Ginny commented quietly. Bill looked at her curiously. "'Mione told Fleur what Ron said about Hermione…"

"Oh…" The older Weasley grimaced but nodded.

"'e shouldn't even be still in zee force, Bill. You know eet. 'e disobeyed a direct order." Fleur observed, locking eyes with him. "I know we don't 'ave many people. 'onestly eet ees zee only reason I'm not questioning your decision about 'im"

"Sure. I should go now. I still have to visit mom and explain to her what happened as he will spend two days arrested." Bill smiled, hugging his friend and Hermione. "I'm really sorry for not thinking it through." Fleur nodded. He moved to hug the other three, who were still standing by the staircase. As he neared the fireplace, he looked again at the veela. "I'm sorry for ruining your morning, Fleur."

"Eet's not your fault, Bill. I'm sorry for screaming at you."

"Completely understandable, dear"

As he vanished from the room, Fleur hugged Hermione back and she felt the veela truly relax. "I'm sorry I woke you up…" She said to the other three, a weak smile on her face.

"No problem. We were supposed to wake up soon anyway…" She looked at the clock on the wall. "Were you heading to breakfast?" they nodded. "I presume we are too, now…" She added with a small smile. "You wait a couple of minutes? We'll just change…" She said after looking at Harry and Luna.

"Sure," Hermione answered, already dragging Fleur to the couch to wait. The three climbing the stairs back to their room. She held Fleur, making sure the blonde was calm. Looking at her eyes she saw cerulean orbs. "You know you can't kill Ronald. Just keep him out of any important mission or make him be constantly stuck with paperwork. I don't want you getting into trouble because of that bastard."

"I know, mon Reine. Eet's just zat…"

"That you could have caught him if it wasn't for his stubbornness. I know. But you will get him." She assured the blonde. "And honestly I would love to help." She added a beat later.

"Help with what?" Harry entered the room in time to hear her last phrase.

"Catching Malfoy." She answered bluntly.

She saw Fleur smile as she said she wanted to help, but the veela's smile only grew as she heard Harry reaction. "Count me in." He said, solemnly.

"I don't know what, but me too," Ginny said as she reached the floor, Luna in tool nodding. "Assuming it has something to do with the recent events."

"You are not trained…" Fleur began to say.

"Oh, please, Fleur. You know better than anyone how the four of us are absolutely more capable of helping you than your little trainees. If anything, you can train us." Ginny said, smiling.

"When exactly?" Fleur asked with a raised brow.

"We could train on weekends. You know we will be ready pretty fast."

"You need to talk to Minerva," Fleur said, smirking. "And your bosses."

"Good, I'm actually tired of all the paperwork," Harry said, making them laugh.

"I was thinking about transferring after graduating anyway…"

They went to the Great Hall with a lighter mood. Hermione sighed the moment her tea reached her tongue, earning a chuckle from Fleur. But the French obviously had to hold back a moan after taking a sip from her cup (it had appeared in front of her as soon as she sat down).

"French coffee?" Hermione asked, snickering.

"Oui." Fleur smiled at her. "You never tried eet after all…" She added, offering the cup.

Hermione took a sip and closed her eyes. "Okay. You win. It's indeed better." She said, taking another sip.

"'ey! Zat ees mine!" The French complained, although laughing.

"Sharing is caring, Fleur!"

"You 'ave your tea! Give me back my coffee!" The blonde whined mock glaring her girlfriend.

Hermione gave the cup back to Fleur, laughing, and kissed her cheek after seeing the French smile sweetly at her beverage. As she returned her attention to her plate, a cup appeared next to the one full of tea. "Thank you, Dobby." She said after sipping it. "I got one too, now!" She celebrated then noticed her friends in front of her laughing.

"Golden! This was definitely the best bicker ever!" Ginny laughed.

"I never heard Fleur whining…" Harry said, after a small fit.

"Shut up. You will work for me." Fleur glared at them.

"It was cute, babe," Hermione said kissing her cheek.

"So, what are you planning to do today? You were obviously planning to have an early breakfast today which blew up, also obviously…" Ginny asked

"Cuddling" Hermione answered honestly and smiling.

"PG?" Harry asked with a raised brow, smirking.

"We were planning on going back to the living room or going to the lake." Hermione offered, ignoring Harry. "You are actually invited."

"We could play something?" Luna suggested.

"It could be a muggle board game…" Harry offered.

"Then we could go out later?" Ginny said, smiling and making Hermione know she wanted to suggest it all along.

"Sure. Where to?" Fleur answered.

"Could it be some bar at muggle London? I don't feel like enduring all the fuss we get when we go anywhere magical…" Hermione asked, already predicting going to a wizarding bar and having the night ending earlier thanks to people not minding their own business.

"Yeah. I guess you are right…" Harry agreed.

"We spend the day playing board games and then go out later? I'm down to it." Ginny grinned as the other four nodded in agreement.

"We should talk to Professor McGonagall then…" Hermione said, looking at the professors' table and seeing the teacher there. "I'll talk to her, just a moment." When she got back, she smiled "She said we can go and asked us to meet her tomorrow afternoon as I asked for some time to discuss our training plans…" They all nodded and headed to their living quarters.

Following Harry's idea of introducing the three girls a muggle game, Hermione flooed into their apartment and came back carrying a box she thought all of them would enjoy playing. She found them waiting for her after cleaning the center table, sitting on the floor around it.

"What you got, 'Mione?" Harry asked. She knew he didn't have a board gaming childhood and saw how hyped he was.

"Jenga." She beamed at the look of confusion on the other's face. "It was actually one of my favorite games growing up and is pretty simple… I hope you like it." She sat between Fleur and Ginny, the only place left and busied herself organizing the tower of wood blocks. "Every woman for herself…" She explained the bases of the game and Harry, saying he had seen Dudley play it one with his friends, helped playing once against her to make sure they had understood. "No magic allowed." Ginny and Fleur groaned.

"Agreed! It would be far too easy otherwise!" Luna said, beaming.

They began playing, Ginny making the tower fall 3 turns after.

"Stupid game…" She mumbled.

"Sour looser!" Fleur laughed, earning a glare from the redhead.

The veela lost the next game.

"Awn, babe! You are still learning!" Hermione said with a baby voice, seeing the small pout she was displaying. She laughed at the glare she received.

"Come on, Fleur! At least it lasted more than 3 turns…" Harry mocked, laughing after being shoved by his girlfriend.

"This game is really good, Hermione! Thanks for teaching us…" Luna said, smiling at the brunette.

"Sure! One more?" She asked after looking at the clock. "Then we go down to lunch?"

"Yup!"

"I'm gonna win this thing!" Ginny exclaimed.

"Gin, everyone that doesn't make the tower go down win…" Hermione rolled her eyes at her best friend need to win every game.

"Whatever!" The redhead mumbled.

An hour and a half later, it was Harry's turn. The longest match until then.

"GO, BABE!" Ginny shouted, out of nowhere. He jumped slightly but it was enough to take the whole tower down. She jumped, laughing and ran out of the room, being followed by an annoyed Harry (Hermione knew he was more amused than anything) shouting she was a cheater and that he would have done it if she hadn't scared him.

The other three followed their laughter/shouting into the Great Hall, absolutely amused by their antics and laughing at the other students confused and creeped out expressions. They sat at their usual spot, Luna made a point sitting in between the two of them. Harry glaring an amused (and still laughing) Ginny.

"No fair," Harry mumbled.

"Aawn! Sorry, babe… I was cheering for you…" Laughed the redhead, hiding behind their Ravenclaw friend.

"Hey!" Moire greeted them eyeing the bickering couple. "What happened?"

"Hi, Moire!" Hermione smiled at the girl and at her friends standing behind her. "Oh, nothing. We were playing a game and Gin scared Harry so he would lose…"

"Oh… What game?" The girl smiled curiously, still watching the couple.

"Jenga," Fleur answered, smiling at her and motioning her to sit with them.

"OOOOOH! It's one of my favorites!" Her eyes shined. She looked at her friends and motioned them to get closer.

"Could they be more alike?" Luna whispered to Fleur, smiling at them. The other blonde shook her head.

"Wanna play with us after lunch?" The veela asked her girlfriend's duplicate, making the girl beam and nod.

"Can…"

"Sure! The more the merrier!" Hermione answered guessing her next question. "Do you know the game?" She asked the rest of the younger group and proceeded to explain.

"Why don't we engorge it?" Ginny asked after the other lioness finished explaining. They were eating dessert and Hermione was leaning on Fleur slightly, the redhead and Harry having forgotten their bickering.

"You can't even win it on normal size without cheating…" Harry snickered, making the group laugh. He used Luna to deflect Ginny as she reached to smack him.

"Stop using Lun as a shield, Harry!" Ginny complained. "Jumpy looser!" She added rolling her eyes.

"Stop bickering, you two!" Luna complained. They fell silent. The rest of the group laughed and Hermione exchanged a knowing look with Fleur.

They went back to the small living room, talking animatedly. Fleur and Ginny moved the furniture to make sure they would have enough space to play it while Hermione and Luna engorged the wood blocks and made them lighter then they would be.

A couple of hours later they were in their second match. They had decided to split into two teams, that way the game would flow better. Teagan suggested the groups to be young/older which earned a "Who are you calling old, little girl?" from Ginny and a fit of laughter from the "older group" at her scared face. "Sorry… Too easy. Let's do it!"

About three hours later, Blake could be found buried under a pile of fallen wood pieces.

"I'm ok!" He shouted, making everyone laugh. Hermione moved to help him get up.

"We should get ready…" Ginny said to Fleur, looking at the clock after controlling her laughter.

Hearing Ginny, Moire looked at the clock. "I need to finish my potions essay…"

"Yeah, I have homework to do too…" Blake said, sadly.

"Let's go then…" Teagan said. "Thanks for inviting us! It was really fun…"

"Sure, Te. You are always welcome." Hermione smiled at her. They said goodbye and left the living room, going to the Gryffindor common room.

"Te? Hermione Granger nicknamed me?" She heard the younger brunette whisper to Moire in awe as they went through the passage.

"I don't know about you, but I'd prefer getting ready at the loft…" Ginny said after the painting closed.

"Oui. More options back 'ome…" Fleur agreed. "Luna, want to get ready with me? Hermione probably wants to make 'er outfit a surprise to me…" She smiled cheekily at her girlfriend.

"Yeah… Just let me get something to wear…"

"Or I can lend you something… I'm sure you will find something you like in my closet…" Fleur suggested, smiling. Luna nodded. "We meet in two 'ours at mine and 'ave dinner zen 'ead out?"

"Deal!" "Sure!" "Delacour's food!" Harry, Hermione, and Ginny said simultaneously, making Fleur laugh. They left after saying a short goodbye each group to their respective destiny.

"No funny business!" Hermione shouted as she entered her bedroom.

"NO FUN!" "OK…" Ginny and Harry answered. Followed by an "OW!" from Harry.

"Just be ready in two." She said, loudly. "SILENCING SPELL, PLEASE!" She added quickly and heard a groan and snickering from the other room.

"Of course, Miss Granger!" Ginny answered laughing then the adjacent room went absolutely silent. Hermione sighed, they would be late.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hey guys! I can't help but make Ron look bad. Obviously, I don't really like him. I hope you enjoyed the chapter...
> 
> I'm posting a short Clexa story I wrote as a birthday gift for my best friend so if you are into Clexa, please go read it and comment! (apparently is pretty good...) And it's not so short as it was me writing...
> 
> Please comment, I'm always pleased to learn what you think! Please leave kudos!
> 
> ;3
> 
> See Yah!
> 
> PS: If you feel like sending me requests suggestions or prompts, feel free to reach me by PM or email me: celticdaughterfics (gmail)


	40. Chapter 39

Hermione got ready in one hour and headed out of her bedroom with a sigh and decided to knock on Harry's door to make sure they wouldn't be late. At least that was the bigger motive she had, the other was a bit deeper. When the door opened she saw the disheveled bed, a clear evidence of their previous activities and a blushing Harry.

"Uhm, we are getting ready…" Harry apparently had tossed a pajama bottom on right before he opened the door…

"Uhum, just wanted to talk to you before we go."

"Sure. Gin is taking a shower-"

"Umm, look, it's a delicate subject and knowing you, you will want to be able to think about it."

"Shoot it."

"Since I know you are not much better than me figuring out your own feelings… Harry, what do you feel towards Lun?" Hermione couldn't resist raising an eyebrow at him as she vocalized the question. She had been meaning to ask them about it even before Luna had talked to her and Fleur. Her girlfriend's suggestion for Luna to join her while getting ready came in handy. Harry's reaction to her words was a full-on blush, the redness rivaled the one the Weasleys displayed when mad.

"I… Uh… What are you talking about?"

"Come on, Harry. I know you as much as you know me. I am able to tell how you are feeling towards someone. I just need to know if you are aware of said feelings." Unlike her, he sometimes had to have the truth thrown at his face.

"I… But I'm with Gin." He was clearly frustrated and sat on the bed, hiding his face in his hands. "And there's all that patronus thing…"

Yes, and you heard nothing I explained about mates then, Hermione thought.

"Harry, how about you talk to Ginny? You know how open she usually is about all this stuff. And try to remember what I said about human mates…" She advised as she heard the water in the bathroom shutting off. "You two should talk."

"Oh, hi 'Mione!" Ginny re-entered the room basically stark naked with her towel rolled on her hair.

"Gin!"

"What, Harry? It's not like she has never seen me naked. And hurry up, you are late." Ginny answered rolling her eyes at her boyfriend. He grumbled and went inside to take a shower. "So, not that I don't appreciate your company while getting ready but why are you here? And why Harry was so flustered?"

"Oh, I need to talk to you about something before we head out and figured this was the best opportunity without being terribly late. And Harry was being Harry because it's pretty obvious you two had sex." Ginny nodded, snickering, and motioned her to continue as she looked through her clothes for something to wear. "Ginny, I know you feel particularly responsible for Luna's well being." The redhead nodded again. "I've been wondering for quite some time, and that's even before all that Manor ordeal, what's going on between you." She knows both of her friends enough to know how to approach the subject without scaring them. That's why she choose to have this conversation without Fleur around. As much as they both liked her now, they didn't have the same closeness with her and Hermione was aware they wouldn't open up.

"Honestly, Hermione? I don't know. Look, I know it's obvious we care about her and we are kind of used to sleeping with her on our bed. I haven't talked to Har about it yet because, well, you know him. He probably hasn't even noticed anything yet. And surprisingly he noticed you and Fleur…"

"So you like her?" A simple direct question only to confirm what the ginger had implied.

"I guess. I was completely worried about what it meant until you talked about that mates thing and it kind of calmed me. I know Harry and I are mates, even our patronus says that. I have no idea of what it means really to like her. I understood what you said but…"

"It means you like her. You have to talk to Harry and figure out what you want to happen and talk to Luna and see how she is feeling too."

"I know. I don't want to freak her out. Except you, she is my best friend."

"And that's why she will understand you. You know Luna is special, Gin. She is basically the only one that is fully capable of understanding all that emotional thing. She figured Fleur out even without talking to her…"

"You are right. As always." Ginny smiled after finally choosing an outfit.

"And I never thought I would be the one giving relationship advice between the both of us." Hermione laughed as Ginny got dressed.

"Fleur noticed too, right?" Hermione simply nodded. The redhead chose a pair of heels and moved to hug her friend. "Thanks for the conversation…" The water had stopped and Hermione guessed Harry was changing inside. "Babe, we are heading downstairs, ok?" Ginny yelled to the door.

"OK!"

"And I know you came here also to make sure we are on time," Ginny smirked as Hermione shot her a grin. "Any idea of where we are heading?"

"Are you sure you are not asking me what we are having for dinner?" The brunette shot over her shoulder as she opened their fridge and got two beers for them.

"Ha! Knowing it's your girlfriend's cooking is enough, honestly."

"I don't know where we could go. We will figure it out over dinner…" Ginny nodded.

"So, we are walking, apparating or flooing to Fleur's?" Harry asked as he reached them at the kitchen counter.

"Apparating," Ginny answered quickly. "I'm really not up to walk now and flooing could get dirt on our clothes." Harry nodded and stole a sip of his girlfriend's beer.

"Let's go then? We will be just in time…" He added, looking at the clock and just as he finished his phrase, he heard the telltale of a disapparition.

"Always eager to see the veela…" Ginny joked as Harry took her hand so they could side-apparate.

Hermione apparated into Fleur's room and smiled as she caught the woman finishing getting ready. Only two people were able to do so inside the apartment but the blonde seemed to be slightly startled.

"'ermione…" She smiled, calming down immediately. They took a second to take in each other's outfits. Both were wearing jeans and heels, but Hermione had opted to wear a plain grey t-shirt with a black leather jacket over it while Fleur chose a white classy bottom-up (clearly knowing it's possible effect on her girlfriend given the smirk she displayed as Hermione's eyes lingered over her breasts region) and a light grey blazer. "You look fantastic."

"You are fantastic."

The knock on the door made them get back to the present and they headed out of the room as Luna shouted she would get the door. Fleur provided beer for all of them (even if that's not her usual choice) and they decided over dinner to go to a bar nearby. An hour later they were entering the pub, all of them sporting a smile on their faces, all pleased to find out the bar provided live music.

"Shots to begin the night!" Ginny exclaimed after they got a table and made Harry go get them with her even before the rest of the agreed.

Hermione smiled and agreed with her just like the rest of the group. She shook her head slightly, thinking about the possible hungover she would be getting the next morning. Fleur smiled at her and pecked her cheek. "I've got potions for after 'ere. Just enjoy." Hermione smiled and agreed.

Not an hour into the group's get together a young brunette approached them. Hermione and Fleur were facing the girl nearing them and noticed she had her eyes fixed on Luna. It was quite clear the other four were couples given Ginny was leaning on Harry and Fleur and Hermione frequently exchanged heart-eyes. Hermione's eyes wondered to see her friends' reaction as the unknown brunette reached their table and greeted them (especially Luna) sweetly. Harry was obviously trying to cover how he was actually feeling and Ginny was almost openly glaring the girl. Luna excused herself as the girl asked her if she would like to dance (the pub had a small space reserved to dancing and it was almost packed with dancing people) and Ginny finally began to openly stare at them. It took everything in Hermione not to laugh at her friend and by the way her girlfriend stiffened by her side, she was having a similar problem. After a music starring at them, Ginny jerked Harry out of his seat and said something about getting them drinks.

"I guess we will have quite a spectacle of jealousy today…" She laughed, watching Ginny and Harry stop at a section of the bar from where they could keep an eye on Luna. The Ravenclaw was obviously having fun but it was also obvious how she kept stealing glances at their table. A few minutes after the couple left the table, Hermione crossed eyes with Luna who shot her questioning glance, the brunette gestured to where they were at the bar. Fleur wrapped her arm around Hermione's waist and pulled her closer beginning to place soft kissed on Hermione's neck, effectively dragging the lioness' focus from the trio drama into her beautiful girlfriend.

"I zink zey need to talk very soon. But I would enjoy much more my girlfriend's attention as I don't get eet all zee time…"

Hermione smiled sheepishly, "Sorry, you are right." She apologized while leaning in for a kiss.

"As much as I enjoy the thought of my best friend finally getting some, I'd very much like you to find yourselves a room," Ginny said while placing a new drink in front of them. (they were both too lost in the kiss to notice their friends back at the table so they jumped apart at the sound of the ginger's voice).

"Crass." Hermione rolled her eyes at her friend and noticed Harry's look of utter embarrassment. "Oh, come on, Harry! You are definitely not a prude!"

"Oh, he never got such a graphic demonstration of you two snogging." Ginny laughed while Harry winced.

Hermione and Fleur laughed. "We could consider it a payback!" The brunette shrugged.

"You both had your hand on each other's breasts." Ginny pointed out.

"Gin, I wouldn't go there if I were you." Hermione looked at her pointedly. At this point, Harry was burying his face in his drink, completely red. Ginny simply laughed. "Anyway, I think I'd like to dance. Fleur?"

"With pleasure." They left the table still laughing at Harry's expression.

* * *

Luna was enjoying the dancing, she really was. But she couldn't help glancing at the couple she had spent all her time with that last week. When she tried to do so and didn't see them, she almost freaked out thinking they had left so early and without talking to her. Hermione's indication of where they were eased her pounding heart but as she looked at them, they both looked away quickly. When the girl she was dancing with tried to kiss her, she took it as a sign and excused herself.

"Hey…" She smiled and sat across Harry and Ginny, she knew the other two women were dancing.

"Hi," was the only response she got, the redhead was clearly very content staring her glass angrily. Harry seemed quite uncomfortable since his voice was really quiet.

"What happened?" She asked worriedly.

"Having fun?" Ginny asked obviously ignoring the blonde's question. "Nothing happened. You can go back to snogging that… that bitch!" She spat.

"What?" Luna got completely confused, had she done anything to her? "I didn't-"

"I don't care! Just go do whomever you want!"

"Gin - " Harry tried to calm her down but earned a killing glare and stopped talking.

Luna took a deep breath to try to ignore the sting those words caused but only felt the swell of tears in her eyes. She stood quickly and decide to leave.

* * *

"What?!" Hermione said as she saw Luna ran towards the door. "Babe, go see what happened to Lun?" She asked meeting Fleur's worried gaze. "I'll see what I can gather from those two." The blonde nodded. "She'll be staying in my room today." She added, after kissing her.

The lioness watched the veela walk away (definitely swaying more than normal purposefully), but quickly shook her head and went to the table. She was greeted by Ginny knocking her head on the table murmuring 'fucks and I'm an idiots' and a very worried Harry trying to persuade her into stopping hurting herself. Hermione looked at him and he quickly gave his seat to her, moving to sit in front of them. She, then, forced her friend to stop banging her head and held her close to her.

"What happened?" While she listened Harry explain, she soothed the redhead who had gone from slamming her head to crying. "Oh, Gin… You are as good as your brother when it comes to jealousy, you know that?" She felt the ginger nod after a particularly loud sob. She smiled weakly. "Lun excused herself immediately after that girl tried to kiss her and came here. You should apologize and talk to her." She glanced at both of them silently chastising them. "You made quite a show today. I guess it's safe you are both deeply into her… Just talk to her. And be honest."

"I guess I ruined the night… Sorry…" Ginny whispered from her shoulder.

"Nonsense." She answered. "Let's go. You are in for quite a speech, Fleur isn't as protective of her as she is of me but still…" They paid the bill and left the pub with a few eyes following them.

"You know, your silent chastising is almost as bad as McGonagall's…" Harry chuckled as they walked back to the flat. Ginny was still half sobbing but laughed at this.

"Oh, shut up!"

"Yes, ma'am…" Harry smirked at Hermione's glare.

"You think she'll be willing to talk to us?" Ginny asked silently, looking at the building approaching as they walked.

"I have no idea, Gin. She looked quite hurt…"

"I know. I'm an ass…"

"That you are," Hermione smirked.

"What a great friend you are!" Ginny whined shaking her head.

They entered the flat silently, not wanting to disturb the blondes. They walked upstairs, Harry and Ginny entering their bedroom after agreeing that the brunette witch should go see if the younger blonde wanted to talk to them.

"Hey," Hermione greeted as she entered the room seeing her girlfriend holding Luna, calming her. Fleur looked up and smiled weakly, her eyes filled with worry for the blonde and love for the both of them. "How's she?"

"Hurting," Luna answered for herself.

"Oh, Lun…" Hermione hurried to their side and joined Fleur trying to calm her down. "I'm sorry…"

"Not your responsibility, 'Mione."

"Yes, I know. But really I should try to make those Weasleys learn how to handle their feelings." Hermione said in a whisper. "Gin isn't as bad as Ronald but she has her difficulties. They want to talk to you Lun." She felt the younger woman hold her breath and slight glare from her mate. "You don't have to do it today, Lun. But hear them out, Gin is feeling really bad and Harry is kind of lost. You know how they are."

Fleur sighed. "You need to 'ear what zey 'ave to say, petit Lune. Not necessarily today but still…"

"I know." She went silent for a few minutes, Fleur holding her while Hermione caressed her back. "Can you stay here?"

"Anything you want." Hermione smiled. "I'll call them." Luna nodded. The door to the couple's room was open but Hermione knocked on it anyway. "Hey, she'll hear you but she's kind of glued to Fleur at the moment and asked us to stay with her…" Ginny stood quickly, nodding and almost dragging Harry. Hermione simply turned and went back to her room, sitting on the other side of a calmed Luna (apparently the French woman had transfigured the armchair into a comfortable couch). Fleur eyed her, she simply nodded. With a small knock on the door, the other couple entered the room, both looking absolutely sorry.

"Hey…" Luna was the first to talk. Her voice sounded small and Hermione had to resist glaring at her other friends, she could feel Fleur glaring at them from the other side of Luna.

"Lun, -" Harry began.

"I'm sorry." Ginny cut him, with a whisper and her eyes locked on the floor at her feet. "I'm really sorry. I hurt you without a reason. I talk shit about my brother but I basically did the same, assuming things I didn't know." Her gaze met Luna's and she looked deflated. "I- I obviously don't know how to deal with my feelings… I'm sorry!" She sobbed.

"Gin, why did you say that?" Luna asked softly.

The red hair looked at Hermione and then at Fleur, both nodding apparently understanding her and trying to help her gather up the courage. Harry kissed her cheek.

"I - I was jealous."

"Why?"

"I saw you with that girl…"

"I was dancing, Gin."

"I know."

"So?"

"You are really going to make me say it, aren't you?" Ginny sighed. Hermione saw only softness in her eyes. "Ok… I like you, Lun."

"Me too," Harry said. For what Hermione could read him, he understood the ginger needed to talk first and she could see the fear on both their gazes. Felling Luna shift a little, she looked at the blonde and saw her looking at them, dumbfounded.

In a moment, a sobbing redhead launched to Luna repeating sorry. The younger blonde was basically tackled as Ginny reached her. Hermione giggled at her friend's antics.

"Gin, I can't breathe."

"Oh, s-sorry…" The ginger moved but was held near Luna.

"Are you serious?" Luna asked in a small voice.

"What?" Ginny looked at her incredulously.

"What you said… Were you serious?"

"About liking you?" Harry approached crouched near Ginny who was still halfway on Luna's lap. Luna nodded, mindlessly stroking Ginny's head.

"Obviously. I'm sorry, Luna. Really. I got absolutely jealous and acted wrong… I should have listened to you… You tried to tell us something I didn't even let you speak. I'm sorry!" She began to sob again. "I'm an idiot!"

"You are not! You are just kind of emotionally blind." She giggled.

"That she is." Hermione laughed, earning a glare.

"And who's talking…" Fleur smirked at her own words. Hermione stuck out her tongue to her.

* * *

Luna ignored the banter going on between the couple and caressed Ginny's cheek, feeling happy now and slightly nervous.

"I like you too, both of you." Luna smiled, feeling lighter.

Ginny looked up, eyes shining with tears. Luna didn't think twice and leaned down softly kissing the red-head and then Harry. She started laughing as she saw both of them blushing wildly.

"I think we should go, babe…" Hermione said in a whisper to Fleur after moving to her side. The older blonde nodded. "Lun, you can sleep here if you want, we are heading to Fleur's…" Luna nodded as the couple headed out of the room. She heard the sound of the disapparating a few moments later. The blonde wondered if Hermione kept any clothes at the veela's flat.

"Uh…" Harry draw her attention back to the couple in front of her. She grinned at him, the man was still sporting some of the redness after the kiss.

"So…" the blonde began, "Do you need another kiss to get rid of the wrackspurts?" She beamed as she felt Ginny chuckle on her lap.

"Lun, would you…" The red-head spoke up, tears were long forgotten. "Would you like to go out with us?"

"On a date." Harry smiled, finishing Ginny's line of thought and holding the ginger's hand.

"I wouldn't take it any other way." Luna beamed and then yawned. The couple took that as a sign and got up.

"We will leave the door open if you need us," Harry said clearly assuming (correctly) that the blonde wanted some time alone after their talk, he knew Ginny and himself needed it too. Luna simply nodded and wished them a good night with another soft kiss on their lips.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hullo guys! Mystery solved? I really like to write people getting jealous, it's fun! I hope you like it...
> 
> I just organized my thoughts about the fanfic as a whole so things must get going more easily...
> 
> Please comment, I'm always pleased to learn what you think! kudos are enjoyed...
> 
> ;3
> 
> See Yah!
> 
> PS: If you feel like sending me requests suggestions or prompts, feel free to reach me by PM or email me: celticdaughterfics (gmail)


	41. Chapter 40

Ginny woke up only a couple of hours after getting into the bed. A dreading scream had made the trick.

"Shit." She didn't need to look at her side to know her boyfriend was also awake. They had completely forgotten about the bad dreams. With a second scream, her body went into action as she got up and started to the door.

"You think we should stay there or bring her here?" Harry asked in a worried voice.

"She's already in distress… Maybe we should stay there." The man simply nodded and they quickened their pace to the other room.

Ginny quickly entered the room and moved to the bed, trying to wake the blonde and sooth her. In less than ten minutes, she and Harry were wrapping themselves over Luna, who had gone back to sleep after she calmed down from the nightmare. The red-head kissed the Ravenclaw's shoulder and smiled as she felt the raven-haired's hand hold her (locking Luna in between them).

She woke again a few hours after and spent some time watching the other two but the warmth of their bodies and the bedding made her drift back to sleep with a sigh.

* * *

They had changed to bed as soon as they apparated to her bedroom. Hermione had snuggled into her as she brought the sheets over them and they slept wrapped into each other. She woke up to the feeling of someone watching her. As she came back into consciousness, she realized it was Hermione who was staring at her.

"You usually say eet ees creepy to watch people sleeping." She smirked.

"Oh, it is. But you are too beautiful to not be watched over any circumstance." Hermione kissed her cheek and smiled.

"I'll 'old on to zat line, ma belle. You realize you are jealous of anyone looking at me?"

"Yep," She hid her face in her hair, obviously sniffing her. "The only one allowed to stare at you is your mate, you smarty veela," Hermione answered, making her chuckle. "You hungry?" Fleur nodded. "I smell croissants. I believe our house-elf friend paid us a visit or informed someone of us being here."

Fleur rolled over herself and held Hermione close. "I really don't want to get up." She whined.

"Don't then. I'll get the food and coffee and we can spend the morning in bed." Hermione nudged Fleur's head and managed to give her a kiss before getting up to get the food. "I'll be right back."

The blonde closed her eyes again as the lioness left the bed. After hearing a small noise, she reopened one of them, only to find an amused Hermione holding a tray with fresh croissants and a bowl of freshly cut fruit along with butter and jelly, two smoking cups sitting on her bedside table. She moved so she was leaning on the headboard and beamed at her beautiful mate. Fleur drew her wand and magically took the tray from the brunette's hands so she could sit then carefully made it land in front of them. The couple spent their morning in bed, chatting and stealing kisses, but mostly reveling in each other's presence. They were leaning against each other with Fleur reading a French translation of another of Hermione's favorite books (they had long finished 'A Midsummer Night's Dream' and had taken upon reading the brunette's favorites - at the bright witch's insistence as she loved the Blonde speaking her native tongue) when the well-known silver stag entered the room with an invite for late lunch with the other three. Fleur answered it quickly after a slight nod from Hermione but neither moved, they still had time.

"I'll miss you," Was the only thing Fleur was capable of saying (silently) as they hugged each other again, none eager to let the other go. The Gryffindor sighed, kissed the nearest skin she could find (Fleur's neck) and nodded.

"I love you" came a few minutes later, muffled as Hermione's face was still buried on the blonde's neck.

"Je t'aime, ma belle…" Fleur hugged her tightly.

Begrudgingly, they got ready for lunch about half an hour later. Soon, they were apparating to the other flat. The couple were greeted by an amazing smell first and as they moved to the kitchen they saw their male friend at the stove, clearly focused on whatever it was that he was cooking, and Luna sitting on Ginny's lap, laughing as the redhead conjured blue and purple butterflies and made them land all over the younger blonde's face and shoulders (they had moved two armchairs closed to the kitchen). They went unnoticed until Hermione flicked her wand and added a few bluebirds to the butterflies' party.

"Hey!" Luna greeted happily, clearly the night before had been forgotten.

Hermione and Fleur greeted their friends (not really releasing their hold of each other's hands) then sat near the two younger women, the veela sitting on the other chair and unceremoniously dragging the brunette to sit on her lap.

"So, what are we having?" Hermione asked curiously, she liked Harry's cooking.

"Lasagne," Harry answered, smiling at the woman.

"Hey, is it ready yet? I'm starving." Ginny smiled at her boyfriend.

"Of course you are," Hermione teased. "When you're not?"

"When you are the one cooking,"

"Which ees never. Wrong answer, Ginny…" Fleur smiled broadly, receiving a light smack from her girlfriend. "What? I 'appen to like my kitchen as eet ees and 'arry does too! You don't cook at 'ogwarts as zee 'ouse elves would freak to 'ave zee kitchen on fire and your parents don't usually cook…" Hermione stuck out her tongue.

"Real mature…" Ginny giggled. Their banter was interrupted by the sound of the timer that Harry had set up.

"And lunch is ready!" He said happily as he moved to get the food and set the table.

They ate and chatted a little then the group decided to spend the rest of the day at the wizarding school so in less than an hour, the group was found longing at their common room, Fleur, Harry, Ginny, and Luna playing Exploding Snaps and Hermione reading with her feet propped up on the veela's lap.

"So, the Quidditch game…" Ginny began as Luna took all cards to start a new game.

"I'll come to watch eef zats what you were planning to ask. Can't promise I won't cheer for Slytherin, zough." Fleur teased, earning a light slap on her arm from Hermione. "Ok, ok. I'll be rooting for Gryffindor as I'm apparently obligated to." All of them laughed.

As the end of the night came, Fleur gave her girlfriend one goodnight kiss and went back home. They were both hoping Hermione was already able to sleep alone, that way the blonde's week routine wouldn't be affected. Nor would Hermione's. They both knew Fleur would be awakened if the brunette got distressed so the younger woman propositioned that she would soundproof her room as to keep the others from waking up in case she had a nightmare and Fleur would go back to the castle if she sensed any distress.

The nightmare apparently came since Fleur was hurriedly flooing to the castle not long after falling asleep. Her veela yelling at her to hurry up, to make their mate safe again. McGonagall was the one that suggested this arrangement as she was worried that the lioness would be alone at night after they informed her that the couple would go back to their previous routine, so there was no need to inform the Headmistress of her arrival. The blonde moved quickly as she stepped out of the fireplace, placing a silencing spell at her feet to make sure she wouldn't wake the others up and running upstairs to the brunette's room. She practically stormed through the door and closed it right behind her. Now inside she was able to hear the screams, she could see the blood, and she could see how her girlfriend was writhing. She didn't need to think too much, a calming thrall flowing from her made the screams be reduced to whimpers and her writhing to stop; she woke Hermione up and held her a bit.

"'ey," She said softly as the lioness snuggled into her and sighed. "Mon Ange, I just need to clean your arm zen we can go back to sleep, oui?"

Hermione nodded. "I'm sorry…"

"You are apologizing for what? Mon amour, you are not at fault, eet's zat 'orrible woman's fault and I 'ave no problem at all to 'aving to 'old you." She kissed her forehead as she sat down again with the potion from Narcissa, a basin, and some material to clean the wound. After the potion was poured and the lioness' arm was again wrapped, Fleur reset Hermione's alarm clock so they both would be awake in time and got under the sheets (now clean as she vanished the blood from them). "Good night, mon Guerrier"

"G'night, babe…" the lioness said in a weak voice. Seeing Hermione like that really cracked her heart. She held the brunette closer and drifted into sleep.

Fleur woke up still holding her girlfriend, apparently a few minutes before the alarm went off. She enjoyed those last minutes looking at her.

"You are starring," Hermione mumbled in a hoarse voice.

"Good morning to you too, Belle au bois dormant"

"Good morning…" The brunette kissed her neck as it was closer to her lips, Fleur couldn't hold back the moan escaped her lips. "Do we really need to get up?"

"Oui, I 'ave a redhead to kill and you 'ave classes to attend." Hermione groaned.

"Wanna go first?"

"I guess I could."

"Great, wake me again when you are finished…" The brunette rolled and resumed her sleep. Rolling her eyes, the blonde kissed her temple and moved to the bathroom, making sure to leave a soothing thrall around the war hero.

After a quick shower and cleaning her teeth, she folded her pyjamas and shrunk them. She left the bathroom and saw Hermione slightly drooling on the pillow, holding another one close (she now recognized it as the one she had slept with). Smiling she woke the younger woman up.

"Can I borrow one of your bottom-ups?"

"Sure. You don't really have to ask." Hermione kissed her on her way to the bathroom.

That was the only thing she didn't have there, the lioness had emptied a drawer for her clothes but had been adamant with her request that no shirts would go in there. She carefully chose one and proceeded to get ready. A few minutes later, Hermione left the other room and grabbed her clothes while wrapped in her towel. They left the room, both slightly more awake. A brown paper bag and a to-go cup appeared on the table when they reached the bottom floor, making Fleur smile.

"Merci, Dobby." Hermione pouted a little as she followed the blonde to the fireplace. "'ave a good day, ma Belle. I'll come back by zee end of zee day, oui?"

"Ok, have a good day, babe." The brunette answered. "And don't kill Ronald. Nor Bill. I really don't feel compelled to visit Azkaban anytime soon."

"You registered zat, uh?" Fleur smiled and Hermione nodded. "Can't promise you anything, zey can be pretty annoying…" She smirked and gave the brunette one last kiss before heading to the fireplace. She would have to go home then floo to the ministry from there. She spent less than 5 minutes at home, enough to grab her work purse, grab a working robe, and drop and engorge her pyjamas. Fleur hurried to her and Bill's office holding the food and coffee.

"Bonjour, William!" She said as she saw her friend.

"Good morning, French lady!" He smiled. "How's your lioness doing today?"

Fleur raised an eyebrow at this. "How did you…?"

"The shirt gave it away, Fleur." Bill beamed. "I spent seven years at that school, I know how the uniform looks like. They can look ordinary but if you know where to look there are small giveaways. Like this small details in red and gold for example."

"Oh…" Fleur sat at her desk and began to eat the croissants that were in the bag, sipping on her coffee.

"Good morning, red and blondie!" The head of the department entered the room as Fleur had finished her breakfast.

"Bonjour, Tonks!" Fleur smiled.

"How's Hermione? I hope she's getting better…" Tonks asked worriedly. "She's tough that girl. I don't know the whole story about that mansion but from what I heard it was really hard times…"

"She's better…"

"Tell her we still would gladly have her as part of our forces…" The woman's hair changed from pink to electric green. "Merlin knows she would be a great acquisition!" She winked at Fleur.

"'ermione ees actually zinking about eet." Fleur smiled. "Don't go bragging, but she's been missing some action. She and 'arry, 'onestly."

"Well, can't say I'm surprised," Bill added.

"If Harry really asks for the field, I might move little Weasley to the office. I'm really trying not to kick him out but the brat is really bad at following orders." Fleur practically snarled at the mention of the younger Weasley man. "Anyway, how did Hogwarts treat you? Ol' school is good right? I might have to give you a heads up, the word that you and the golden girl are dating has spread. Basically every department's current gossip." Tonks smirked. "And I guess your current clothing won't help the rumors… She had a hard night?"

"Oui. She keeps dreaming about zee manor, I wish I knew 'ow to 'elp…"

"I hope she get's better soon, though."

"'ow did everybody know?"

"Some of the ministry employees have kids there and some of them might have said something about. And people like to gossip." The colorful headed woman said nonchalantly. "Anyway, I better go and you better go train some brats. Don't worry blondie, the redhead brat is suspended for a month. Or two." She smirked. "You weren't the only one mad at him for losing Lucius, Fleur. Half of the division is kind of ready to kill him. He's out for safety reasons. I guess even Molly is trying not to kill him currently."

"Mom is definitely not happy about all that." Bill offered, shaking his head, as their boss left the room and the duo got ready to work.

* * *

Hermione sighed as she saw the veela vanish into the green flames and sat on an armchair to wait for her friends.

"You are early." Luna was the first one to get down, not longer than two minutes after she sat.

"I had a nightmare and Fleur came in last night," Hermione explained, hearing the two remaining members of their group get to the room.

"Rough night?" Ginny asked having heard only the last part. She hugged her friend as she nodded. "I'm really sorry."

"Fleur just left."

"Aw, we missed her…" The group laughed and left to the Great Hall.

They adjusted quite quickly back into school routine (not that they really had a choice) and by the end of the morning the group had already gone to the library and were carrying the books they would need for the assignments. They had just finished eating and were chatting when McGonagall went to them with a slightly worried frown, she was coming from outside the hall.

"Good afternoon, I'm afraid I'll have to pull you from your classes for the rest of the day, I need to meet you four at my office. Your teachers have been already informed so if you would follow me…"

"Professor," Hermione began as they exited the Great Hall, "I'm sorry, but what happened?"

"I wouldn't be able to inform you that, Miss Granger. I just received a request to a meeting with the four of you from Miss Delacour."

Hermione's head was running leaps trying to figure out why exactly her girlfriend would have made such request, to no avail. Ginny had to guide the concentrated lioness towards the headmistress office. They met Fleur inside the office, in deep conversation with two other women. They were talking in quick French and Hermione failed to understand the subject but she could swear she heard her name. McGonagall cleared her throat to gather the visitor's attention.

* * *

Fleur was about to get a small break when an Owl landed on her shoulder and extended it's leg to her. She frowned after taking the letter, it was sealed with the Delacour's crest. Awkward, her mother never sent her mail through owl neither did her grandmère…

> _Fleur,_
> 
> _I've been preoccupied with Hermione's health since you sent me word of what she is currently going through. While I understand that the scar left on her arm is not something I can help dealing with, maman, your father and I have been giving a thought about how we could possibly help your mate. We again went through our archives, trying to find anything that could lay a light on the subject. We are sorry it took so long, but we actually had to research other clan's archives personally as we understand that it's a personal matter. We have finally come up with an idea, it's something that has been used by a few healers of our kind to help trauma patients to get over and heal. We found two of those healers and they say they can most certainly help given it's about a veela mate. Your g_ _randm_ _è_ _re_ _managed to persuade them to help your other friend who got through it (Luna isn't it?). They are willing to meet you anytime you and the girls can. You just have to send me word. I'm not home, hence the owl, so just floo to the Lebeau palace._
> 
> _Best wishes,_
> 
> _Maman and Grandmère_

Fleur's eyes bugged out of her face as she finished reading the letter, she ran to her office without thinking and almost ran into Bill.

"Whoa! What's the matter?" the redhead asked her after making her stop.

"Maman wrote me, apparently zey found a way to 'elp 'ermione and Luna with the nightmares." Bill's eyes widened. "I need to talk to Minerva and see when eet could 'appen."

"Go, I'll talk to-"

"Hey, why you two look so frantic?" Tonks stopped by them, her hair changing to a dulled orange.

"Maman found a way to 'elp with 'ermione's and Luna's nightmares, I need to talk to Minerva-"

"What are still doing here? Go!" Tonks' command put Fleur into action again.

"Zanks!"

"Just let us know whatever happens!" Bill yelled as she moved to the elevator.

She got home and partially flooed to the school, hoping she would be able to reach Dobby. He appeared with a pop right after she called for him. She explained she had to get in touch with the headmistress immediately and possibly the four students. He simply nodded and said he would pop into her house after passing the message to the older woman. Not ten minutes after, the elf was popping into existence in her house, saying she should be able to floo to the Headmistress' office.

"Good morning, Minerva. I'm sorry I took you from your appointments."

"No problem, Miss Delacour. I understand, from what Dobby just told me, that this meeting had something to do with Miss Granger and Miss Lovegood." Fleur nodded. "I see, as I trust you wouldn't be requesting this without a good motive, I'll fetch them as they must be having lunch right now. If you need anything, feel free to call Dobby."

"Minerva, I need to get in touch with maman. Ees eet okay if I use the fireplace? I might bring two other people here."

"If you judge it wise, yes. I trust you, Fleur."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello my dear readers! It's me, your friendly neighbor Celtic! (ha, you thought I'd say my name!) (Sorry I think I'm watching a little too much KindaTV - Carmilla is an addiction, honestly)
> 
> So this one is almost a filler, right? The main info about the healing method comes with the next chapter (I hope I'm able to make it understandable...)
> 
> Please comment, I'm always pleased to learn what you think! Your kudos boost my writing...
> 
> ;3
> 
> See Yah!
> 
> PS: If you feel like sending me requests suggestions or prompts, feel free to reach me by PM or email me: celticdaughterfics (gmail)


	42. Chapter 41

Hermione watched her girlfriend startle at the sudden noise. "Ah, you are 'ere!" Fleur exclaimed and moved to greet the newcomers. "'ow was your morning? 'ow are you?" She was beaming.

"It was good, babe… What's happening?" Hermione was certain she looked confused and she was.

"Ok, I'll explain eet to all of you. Zese are Thérese Laurent and Nina Descoteaux." She motioned to the other women who had approached them as Fleur Greeted the others. "'ermione, do you remember zat I wrote maman last week and along with zee request for a research about zee bonding I told 'er briefly about what 'appened to you and Luna?" Hermione nodded. The explaining was directed to her but she knew the others were paying close attention. "Well, apparently maman got worried and started a quest, with papá and grandmère, to find a way to 'elp you two." Hermione gasped as her four other ones. "According to zem, our kind 'ave been dealing with survivors of magical torture for quite some time, as we know creature 'ate 'as been a zing for ages. Our clan didn't 'ave any register about zose but we 'ave already found zat zee Delacour clan lacks on et apparently. Well, maman found two 'ealers who know zee process and performed eet a few times. Zey were about to explain to me when you arrived."

They were all sat, conjured chairs as there were more people than usual there. McGonagall had sent for Flitwick so he could perform a translating spell at the room (it wasn't her specialty after all) and he had left quickly after. The Headmistress, Luna, Ginny, and Harry had sworn not to talk about what would be discussed with any other person. Hermione was Fleur's mate and their situation had already been explained by the Delacour's matriarch. The room had been protected and all the paintings were now empty.

"We first have to discuss a few things previous to this specific healing process. First, and I assume the headmistress already know that but it will be needed to explain the rest so I apologise, all beings are composed by three portions, at least: the body - what links us to this world; the mind - what makes us function as we do; and the core - being it magical or not, it is our life essence. To magical beings, more specifically, humans, the core is a little bit different; witches and wizards have what we call a magical core, so they basically have two cores interlaced. Magical creatures on the other hand not only have dual cores as magical humans, but they have also dual minds and in case of shapeshifters, dual bodies - and it could also be applied to animagi. The veela kind, and in here I can go as far as saying no other creature has it, have something we call the third core. I can't explain it to you deeply, but I'd resume it as something that connects us to the energy of love and ecstasy." Thérese began, she was more tan than Fleur but also held the almost perfect beauty. So did Nina. The three of them had almost the same hair, cut in different ways but they looked very similar.

"As for the type of injuries a cruciatus curse can inflict to a person who has suffered from multiple castings, the veela have deeper research than most. The damage is initially done to the body, then the mind and then the core - first vital than magical. Most reach the breaking point when the damage occurs to their mind, but a few are able to hold onto their minds. It happens mostly when their mind is protected by their magical core. And that situation might leave the person alive but suffering some kind of PTSD." Nina chimed in.

"The healing we are proposing would heal both mind and magical core. The process includes overflowing you with the energy of our magical and third core, that flood induces your core into a healing process, then the mind is healed as your own core energy helps you overcome the trauma. This whole process is accelerated by the stream of energy so what naturally would take at least a few years to happen, happens in a few hours." Thérese finished the explanation, smiling to the five dumbfounded witches and wizard. "The process has been done only on magical beings and some of them didn't have any magical creature blood, it is safe for you two. We need to access the range of damage before going ahead but that's about it."

Hermione was awestruck. "I'm sorry, but why don't share it with the wizarding world?"

"Unfortunately, the veela are secretive people because of past experience. The wizarding world is too prejudiced and mostly after great power. The veela are hunted because of their fear of the unknown, the knowledge of this healing power could and have led to the imprisonment of our people. We help those we judge worthy and our kind." Nina explained.

"It's really wonderful." McGonagall smiled. She had tears in her eyes and looked absolutely relieved (as did a very silent Fleur). "I'm really happy you are able to help both these girls. They are so very much special that I'm not really able to explain." That made tears come to Hermione's eyes. Her favorite teacher. "Thank you, I've been trying to find a solution for them since I heard what they had gone through."

"Thank you," Luna said softly. Hermione could only nod as she didn't trust her voice at the moment. The other three were still shocked.

McGonagall decided that the best place to do such procedure would obviously be the hospital wing but as it was not possible given the need for secrecy, it would be done at her quarters (it had direct connection to the office they were currently in so no one would see or suspect anything and she could have complete control over who and what could enter the room). After they had all moved to the other room, two chairs were transfigured into comfortable beds and Luna and Hermione laid on their backs. The veela healers took their place near the head of each girl and made a diagnosis, quickly moving to the healing process. Hermione was induced into a peaceful sleep as Nina worked on her, the woman was sitting near her head, her hands were placed on each side of her head. The other healer was in the same position by Luna.

* * *

As it had been said, the process was taking a few hours and Fleur was absolutely impatient, just like every other person in the room. She did trust it would help her lioness but couldn't help being protective of her. After some time, Nina opened her eyes and stared at her until she looked at her. The healer motioned with her head for Fleur to get closer to Hermione.

"Your thrall will help her heal faster," the woman said in a low voice. "Focus on getting her comfortable. The scar on her arm left damages too, I'll heal what I can."

Fleur nodded. "We are currently trying to find the blade that made this so we can work on the healing." The other veela nodded.

"Don't worry, Miss Delacour. She'll be fine, she's strong. I might add that even not being fully mated to you, she started developing a third core. I can feel it as I help her heal. We couldn't expect anything different from the mate of the heir." She smiled at Fleur and refocused on the healing.

The room was silent after that, no one dared to speak at that point fearing it could break the witches' concentration. Fleur was sat by Hermione's bed holding her hand and doing what the healer told her to. If she had to be honest, she would have to say she had almost forgotten there were other people in the room. She was aware that Harry and Ginny had moved to sit near Luna's bed, mirroring her but her focus laid only on Hermione. Dobby popped into the room a few times to see if they needed anything and provide them something to drink. Minerva had to leave as she had classes to teach but went back as soon as she could. It had just passed dinner time when Nina relaxed, opened her eyes and moved her hands. To Fleur, it felt like it took much longer than it actually did. Hermione opened her eyes and her eyes zeroed on Fleur's.

"Hermione, your body is exhausted because of zee excess of energy zat flowed zrough it. A good night of sleep and you'll be fine. Eat then go to sleep." Nina said, making Hermione focus on her.

Fleur helped Hermione to get out of the makeshift bed and go to the table where Dobby had left some food and drinks. She saw Harry and Ginny smiled at them, Luna was still under treatment. An hour later, Luna was awake and eating. Hermione had refused to go before Luna could too. Minerva allowed them to floo directly to their living room at the castle and as soon as all of them got there, they said good night and went to sleep.

"You'll stay here, right?" Hermione asked as they entered her room. She changed and immediately went to bed.

"Oui, ma Reine. I'll stay tonight."

"Good," the lioness smiled sleepily as she laid by her side and held her. "I sleep better with you."

"Moi aussi…" Fleur said into her hair. "I love you."

"I love you too."

The next day began the same as the previous but this time the couple decided that they should give it a try and sleep separately. Hermione would do the same as Sunday night.

* * *

"Have a good day, babe," Hermione said as they entered the living room, hugging her girlfriend.

"You too, chéri. Love you." Fleur kissed her goodbye and moved to the fireplace. "I'll floo you when I get back 'ome."

"Okay, I'll probably be here doing homework…"

"So domestic…" Ginny teased as she stepped into the room after Fleur vanished.

"Good morning to you too, Gin."

"Morning…"

The group headed together to breakfast, where they found a worried Moire as she hadn't seen them at dinner. After eating and calming the first year down, their day began. Double potions, double transfiguration, Lunch and then Luna dragged her to watch Ginny and Harry practice.

"So…" Hermione began, she hadn't talked to them about what happened after she and Fleur left the previous Saturday.

"They asked me out," Luna answered the unspoken question as they were climbing one of the stands to watch the practice. Hermione hugged her, smiling.

"That's good. But I'm sorry it took you leaving the bar crying to make those two take action."

"Passed waters." Luna smiled as they sat and Hermione fished a book from her book-bag. "Where are our first-year friends?" She asked looking around.

"They might be on their way here. Moire said she would probably be dragged to watch. Just like I have been" She mock-glared Luna, who laughed.

"You would be reading somewhere else, now you are reading here and supporting your best friends. Stop complaining…" It didn't take more than half an hour for the group of younger Gryffindors to find them. Ginny and Harry had decided to go to the pitch earlier and talk about strategies as their first game was getting closer. After that, Hermione and Luna went back to the common room and began their homework while Ginny and Harry had Muggle Studies (Hermione didn't understand why Harry insisted on doing this class as he had been raised by two muggles. Awful muggles, but still muggles).

"So beautiful concentrating…" Hermione heard her girlfriend's voice just as she was finishing her Transfiguration essay. She smiled.

"Just a second, babe."

"Sure…"

They spent some time talking, just like they used to before that dreadful report writing. And both made sure they wouldn't go too much into the night as both had things to do the next day. If she had to be honest, Hermione would say she was dreading going to sleep. She knew she eventually would have to go back to sleeping alone but she was also kind of afraid and for what Hermione could see, Fleur was worried too.

The lioness woke up with her blaring alarm clock. Groaning, she snoozed it. She had a hard time sleeping thanks to her fear and to the empty bed. Yeah, it was going to be hard getting used to sleeping alone again. Sighing she turned the alarm off and began to get ready for the day.

"It worked," Ginny said as she reached the living room.

"Yeah, now I gotta get used to sleeping alone." Hermione grimaced as her friends gave her apologetic smiles. "At least I don't have to see that mad woman's face every night…"

They went to breakfast in silence. The day passed relatively quickly, with Hermione going to study at the library after lunch with Ginny and Harry as Luna was in Arithmancy class. The older lioness left the couple before the Ravenclaw met them as she still had one last class. Hermione smiled when she flooed her veela after dinner.

Having to sleep without Fleur was hell, the brunette decided, as she woke up the next Friday. The third night she was giving it a try… Hermione smiled as soon as she remembered it was Friday and that she would be seeing her girlfriend in flesh later that day. She rolled her eyes at Ginny as the redhead teased her for putting more effort into looking good. The day passed in a torturing slow pace, by the time the last class ended (History of magic), Hermione was entirely impatient and briskly walked to their quarters. The moment she walked past the painting was the moment Fleur stepped out of the fireplace.

"Oh my, it's like we're at a romantic movie!" Ginny snickered as both girlfriends quickly moved towards each other. "So sappy!" Hermione simply flipped her off as she continued kissing her girlfriend.

Fleur was greeted by the rest of the group after Fleur smiled into the kiss and pulled back still smiling. They left not much longer after, leaving the couple to their own affairs. They ate and decided to get rid of what they had to do. They finished organizing everything (after reading the reports that had been sent to them and adding theirs) as their trio of friends came back from whatever they were doing.

"Hey! You finished?" Ginny asked after entering the room, the witches nodded. "Right, Moire was asking for you, 'Mione…"

"Is she ok?"

"Yes, she is. She just wanted to spend some time with you… I think she's in the common room…" Luna answered. Hermione smiled and moved to check for the first year.

"Is it ok if I invite her in?" She smiled as the group nodded. Hermione found the little lioness longing near a fireplace with her friends and was greeted enthusiastically. She extended the invitation to the rest of their small group, they were a little shocked at that (Hermione asked herself if it would eventually get old and they would be used to them).

"So… Jenga?" Harry asked after everyone was comfortable.

"I don't know about you, but I'm entirely too tired to be any good at zis game." Fleur sighed, leaning on Hermione. Hermione held her by her waist and nodded.

"What do you suggest? We have to entertain our guests…" Ginny smiled, agreeing with the French witch silently.

"You up to hearing about our misadventures?" Hermione smiled at the younger group. She had a feeling that it would do. She was met with eager nods.

"Try not to give zem any ideas, chéri. Minerva would kill us."

"It's not like they would willingly go after a three-headed dog…" Hermione laughed.

"Or after a giant snake that was hiding on the school's pipes…" Harry added.

"Don't you remind me of that year…" Ginny grumbled shivering.

"Or after an animagus with a werewolf teacher…" The older lioness continued after offering an apologetic smile to her ginger friend.

"Or enter a crazy ass competition, unwillingly."

At that, Hermione chided: "Language, Harry!"

"Sorry…"

"Oh, or found a secret organization to practice DADA." Luna offered. "Because a toad teacher wasn't willing to teach it correctly."

"That was super against the rules. I really never expected Hermione to have that idea." Harry laughed.

Hermione simply shrugged. "The toad was really getting on my nerves…"

After a round of laughter, they decided to tell the younger group about their first year. Only Hermione and Harry spoke, as Ginny and Fleur had only heard about their supposed adventure.

"You won't believe how much Ron gloated because of that stupid match!" The older redhead sighed as Harry retold the moment Ron had won the chess match that McGonagall had transfigured. The night ended with the young Gryffindors making them promise they would tell them other stories and Fleur proudly holding Hermione (after hearing her part on the "adventure"). They went to bed almost immediately, holding steaming cups filled with tea. Hermione sighed as she got under the covers.

"I missed you." She stated as soon as the veela was within arms range.

"Me too, ma belle."

Hermione got comfortable on the blonde's side as Fleur reached for the French book they had been reading and their cups. After handling one to Hermione, Fleur opened the book and began reading aloud. Not long after, they heard a knock on the door and it opened to reveal an anxious Ginny.

"Hey…" the redhead said quietly.

"Gin? Are you okay?" Hermione got worried, it was unlikely for the ginger to get that anxious.

"Uh? Yeah, I'm fine. I just need to ask you something…"

"Go ahead zen…" Fleur offered curiously. "Come in, Ginny…"

"Ok…" She stepped inside and closed the door behind her. "Well, I'm not sure Lun told you, but, uh, we - Harry and I - asked her out. On a date…"

"Oui?" "Yes, she did say something about it…" Was Fleur's and Hermione's answer.

"Well, I was wondering - actually, me and Harry - if it would be possible" The couple had amused looks at the nervousness of the redhead who was looking at the ground. "For you guys to - uh - help her get ready… At Fleur's." Ginny let the breath she was holding out.

Hermione raised an eyebrow at this, looking at Fleur. "I don't know, Gin." The ginger's eyes snapped up. The older lioness was fighting the smile creeping on her lips. "We kind of had plans." Ginny's eyes widened.

"Oh -"

"Oui, we 'ave plans," Fleur said, catching on.

"Ok -"

"We planned on kidnapping Luna and forcing her to accept our help on getting ready." Hermione interrupted Ginny at what seemed to be the beginning of an apology. She and Fleur grinned mischievously.

"Uh?"

"Yes, Gin. Of course, Lun can get ready at Fleur's. Of course, we will help her. We would love to." Hermione added, rolling her eyes. "Why the hell were you so nervous to ask?"

"You are mean, 'Mione…" Ginny said, blushing. "And I have no idea…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello my dear readers! It's me, your friendly neighbor Celtic! (ha, you thought I'd say my name!) (Sorry, I think I'm watching a little too much KindaTV - Carmilla is an addiction, honestly) (And I'll just keep starting like this, just bc)
> 
> Healing method! (I hope I was able to make it understandable...) And a Hermione being a teaser! Yup, love writing her like this. The sass should have rubbed off on her at some time, right?
> 
> Oh, shout out to Thewallflowerwithasword since I kind of was hugely inspired by their healing methods on Athena Chronicles... (Read, It's great. Seriously!)
> 
> Please comment, I'm always pleased to learn what you think! (and will respond hehe) 
> 
> Kudos are life!
> 
> ;3
> 
> See Yah!
> 
> PS: If you feel like sending me requests suggestions or prompts, feel free to reach me by PM or email me: celticdaughterfics (gmail)


	43. Chapter 42

Yep, her best friend was the devil but Ginny guessed she kind of earned that, given she teased the brunette with how smitten she was with her veela girl. She sighed, leaving the others' room, who were still snickering at her. Upon entering her room she was greeted by the endearing scene on her (she hoped so) soon to be girlfriend curled up on her boyfriend, both sleeping. She smiled and moved to get herself ready to bed, she lodged herself on the other side of Luna as it was the only space left on the bed (it as actually a bit small, not that any of them really cared). She spooned Luna, making sure the blonde wouldn't wake up and reached out with her arm so she was touching Harry's hip. The other two simply sighed, with Luna leaning a little on her and Harry shifting closer to them and wrapping his free arm (as one was under his head and pillow) over her and mirroring her own arm, leaving Luna effectively sandwiched between them. Ginny carefully placed a soft kiss on the blonde's shoulder, feeling her relax completely, and let sleep take her.

"They are so adorable sleeping that I feel guilty to wake them up." Ginny heard as the slumber began to fade from her consciousness. She grumbled, recognizing the voice as her best friend's.

"What do you want?" She mumbled, after opening one eye to glare at Hermione only to be met by not only her but Fleur too. She should have guessed. She rolled her eyes because the couple seemed resolved to recoup their lack of presence around each other during the week by staying glued what seemed to be the whole weekend.

"We're here to abduct Luna. Why else?" Hermione laughed at her friend's sleepy face.

"You are supposed to do so only later," Harry grumbled as he arose, frowning at his sister.

"Well, we decided we would do eet now." Fleur smiled sweetly.

Sighing and knowing there was no way she could convince the couple to let them sleep some more, she called for Luna softly while rubbing her hip. The blonde simply snuggled further into her, earning snickers from the others in the room. "Come on, Lun… The evil couple wants you up now…" This was met with a simple head shake and an unintelligible mumble.

Harry sighed and moved out of the bed. He had a soft smile on as he gathered his clothes for the day and entered the bathroom. Ginny fully laughed when Luna rolled out of her reach (tried to), as she was still trying to wake her up, and resumed her sleep with a quiet snore. Ginny shrugged, looking at the older couple and got out of bed. She was sorting through her things, figuring what to wear when she heard a yell from the bed and laugher. Turning, she saw Hermione on top of Luna tickling the younger witch. She snickered as the Ravenclaw struggled to be free of the brunette's onslaught.

"I'MAWAKEI'MAWAKE!" The younger blonde shouted after gathering enough air. Hermione got out from Luna and helped the Claw get up. "You are mean."

"You love me somehow," Hermione smirked. Luna was really glad the rather eccentric young woman had friends other than herself, she knew she and Hermione had a shaky start.

"Very true."

"Now, we are abducting you in case you didn't hear the first time I said it."

"Oh?"

"You are spending zee day with 'ermione and myself until eet's time for your date." Fleur offered, smiling as the younger witch sorted her clothes quicker than Ginny and ran into the bathroom as Harry exited.

"I won't ask the plans for the date but I do expect to hear all about it tomorrow over lunch?" Hermione smiled inviting the trio to Fleur's for lunch (or Ginny expected that was where the meal would be happening). Harry smiled and agreed for both of them sakes.

"Dressing code?" The French asked.

"Casual," Ginny answered knowing she was referring to the date.

"Lun, we'll be downstairs!" Hermione shouted out to the witch inside the bathroom. A muffled 'ok' was heard and the older couple left the room.

"So, they agreed with letting Lun get ready with them…" Harry chuckled.

"More like they were already planning on doing this before I even asked. And 'Mione mocked me for being nervous to ask them…"

"And I really don't know why you were."

"Why didn't you go then?"

"And risk seeing them snogging more than I have already? No thanks. I was very safe here." He laughed.

"As if you had any innocence to be taken away…" Ginny rolled her eyes.

Luna got out of the bathroom and smiled at them. "So, I'll see you later…"

"Certainly, we'll pick you up at Fleur's at six… Ok?" Ginny answered. Luna pecked her lips, then Harry's and left the room.

"We're leaving! See you at 6!" The Quidditch captain heard Hermione yell.

"Okay!" "See ya!" Were Harry's and her's responses.

Ginny got ready for the day as her boyfriend waited for her reading the book she had lent him about the Holyhead Harpies.

"So, breakfast in London?" She asked while reentering the room.

"I'm up for it." Harry placed the book aside and walked to her, holding her. "G'morning, since I had no chance of saying before thanks to our crazy family."

"Morning. And you crazy family, I have nothing to do with them. Yet." Ginny laughed.

"Right, because you don't consider 'Mione your sister too. Even your mom considers her a second daughter…" He chuckled. "Though I think it's because she had far too many boys…" Harry added with a whisper. She cracked.

"I'll let McG know we are leaving."

"McG?"

"Shush," Ginny rolled her eyes. She conjured her patronus and sent him his way as they reached the first floor. "I doubt she expects us to spend our weekends here anyway…"

"True…"

They didn't spend much time in the flat as they were both hungry. It didn't take much for them to find a place that had a breakfast menu so they entered without much thought and sat, both ordering a rather large amount of food. Ginny regarded Harry for a bit.

"So, you up to cooking or we'll get Lun to a restaurant later?"

He smiled and they began plotting how they would sweep Luna off her feet.

* * *

"Uh, where are we going?" Luna asked as she was almost dragged out of Fleur's apartment.

Hermione smiled at her, same as Fleur.

"We are distracting you." Fleur offered. "I zought you might get anxious so I spoke to my beau 'ere and we decided to spend zee day with you."

"I'd really like to eat first, though," Hermione said as they heard her stomach growl.

"Wanna check on Jilpy?" Fleur suggested, both women agreeing.

They arrived at the café without being mobbed, miraculously (it was a Saturday after all). A random attendant greeted them at the entrance, they led them to a table and gave them the menu. Not more than 5 minutes later, three cups filled with their hot beverage of choice appeared in front of them. When the attendant got back to them, they seemed startled.

"Are you usual customers?"

"You could say that…" Hermione said smiling.

"We are friends with an employee." Luna offered, smiling. She thought it was strange the attendant didn't recognize them right away.

"Oh…"

Luna noticed a brunette that seemed to know Fleur approach them. She seemed pleased.

"Miss Delacour! It's a pleasure to have you here again!"

"And zee owner..." Fleur said as the person at their service paled seeing the woman talk to them. "'ello, Aubrey!" She added smiling.

"Is Beca servicing you well? She's the newest addition to our staff," the woman questioned smiling. "And is American in case you were wondering why she didn't really recognize you." She added with a whisper.

The trio nodded understanding. "I was about to get their orders when I saw they already had drinks..." The attendant explained in a low voice to the owner.

"Jilpy saw you getting in uh?" the woman smirked, "No worries, dear. Just take the rest of their order. This group here has high priority. And relax, you are after all attending the most humble group of war heroes of UK.." Beca blanched as the three women sitting rolled their eyes.

"So much for not drawing attention…" Hermione mumbled, taking a sip of her drink. "Oh, coffee!" She seemed surprised.

"I guess she 'eard from Dobby zat you enjoyed eet at zee morning…"

"I heard you have been at Hogwarts launching the new policy professor McGonagall instated…" Aubrey smiled. Luna enjoyed the fact that the woman didn't fuss around them and could see Hermione too was grateful. Fleur nodded. "Jilpy made sure to send your preferred coffee to the school as soon as she heard you would be staying there the whole week."

Fleur simply grinned. "She's wonderful…"

"Indeed." Aubrey excused herself then as an elf appeared to inform her she was needed, promising to go back to them before they were off.

Hermione and Fleur ordered croissants and sliced fruits, Luna simply went along with them. Beca scurried away as soon as she got the order. The food appeared at the table quickly again, a basket filled with fresh croissants, small containers with honey, jelly, and butter, and three bowls filled with cut fruit. As they were finishing the food, Aubrey appeared again, smiling.

"I'm sorry, I just realized I didn't present myself to you. I'm Aubrey, though you knew that already." She beamed. "It's a pleasure to meet you two." She added to Luna and Hermione.

"Uhm, can I ask you something?" Hermione began, waiting for a nod from the owner. "Is it possible for you to keep sending the coffee to Hogwarts?"

"I'm happy to inform you, Miss Granger, that we are already doing such thing. As far as I am aware, that school's elf that is friends with Jilpy took upon himself to keep at least some of it there." The woman smiled. "They seem quite fond of you and your friends." Aubrey wished them a good day and went back to her office.

Luna waited for them to leave the café to ask them about the plans. Fleur proposed shopping and Hermione promptly suggested they began at the bookshop. Only halfway through the shop, Luna remembered she hadn't packed any clothes for the date and almost panicked. Fleur snickered and said she was actually planning on going shopping for some clothes after the bookshops (they had decided to go to both wizarding and muggle bookshops). The three witches spent most part of the day inside shops in the muggle London as none of them had much care for wizarding robes. An hour before the scheduled time for the Potter-Weasley couple to show up to fetch Luna, the three women were deciding Luna's outfit. The younger blonde had showered and clad herself in the new lingerie she had bought but they didn't seem to be really able to agree on one outfit; Luna seemed to be absolutely incapable of choosing something for herself, Hermione (the ever more practical) chose tight jeans and a feminine button-up while Fleur suggested a cute blue dress that hugged her at all the right places. All picked from the clothes the Claw had bought earlier. After a few minutes of absolute indecisiveness from Luna, Fleur made the woman try them both. After that, Hermione had agreed with her girlfriend that the dress would be the best choice. That sorted out, Fleur set on putting some make-up on Luna (upon her request) while the brunette watched them smiling. Right on time, they heard a knock on the door. Hermione went to get it while Fleur finished braiding Luna's hair. That done, the younger blonde went to the living room, to meet the couple that was taking her out. They smiled at her and she felt their adoring gaze on her, making her flush. Harry was wearing dark jeans, a white bottom-up (a rather classy one), and black social shoes, he was holding out a red tulip and smiling. Ginny stood beside him wearing tight black jeans, a backless grey blouse, a black jacket and in high heeled ankle booties, her hair was down and tossed over her right shoulder. She was holding out a tiger lily (Luna found it funny that she was the one holding the lily, not harry). Luna smiled at them.

"You look great…" The ginger said reverently smiling back. Harry nodded. They gave Luna the solitaire flowers.

"Thanks, you two look awesome."

Hermione came to her as took the flowers. "I'll put these in water. I'll get them to the flat." She said the second phrase more like a question, she had no idea of what their plans were.

"Thanks, 'Mione," Ginny said smiling. "Let's go? We have reservations…" Luna nodded and they left the apartment.

The trio arrived at the restaurant just in time, having been led to their table immediately. Luna had no knowledge of the place and didn't exactly know where they were in London (she assumed they were in London). Harry made sure to pull out the chair for Luna and Ginny, grinning. The table was round so the three of them could face each other easily.

"We remembered you saying the food you liked the most, in your travels with Xeno, was Thai… This is one of the best restaurants in London, specialized in Thai food." Ginny said softly as Luna looked around.

"Oh," The blonde beamed, she really loved the food. "It had been quite sometime I don't eat Thai…" Luna inclined slightly out of her seat to peck on the other two cheeks. "Thank you!"

They ate and chatted quietly, the blonde noticed it was really easy to be with them. They were both pleasant and willing to discuss whatever she said, she knew she seemed a little crazy when she was talking about those unknown beasts but she also knew they were very real. The other two were curious about anything she said and listened closely, she saw genuine interest on what she had to say (refreshing after years of people only listening to her to be able to mock her). She was softly smiling, looking at both her companions and glad she was there with them.

"Hey," Ginny said softly. "Where did you go?" a smile grazer her lips.

"Oh! Sorry, I guess I got lost in my head…"

"That must have been interesting." Harry smiled.

"Not really…" She laughed. "I'm glad I'm here with you two…" She added.

"We're glad you accepted coming with us." Ginny grinned.

They had finished sharing a small dessert and decided to head out, Harry gave both girls a meaningful look as if daring them to try paying as he asked for the check. He and Ginny offered a hand to Luna as they got up, she took both and graciously followed them. They apparated with her once again, and she found herself at an amusement park. She grinned and dragged them to the entrance, they laughed and followed her. Ginny made her and Harry wait out of the line to buy the tickets and came back a few minutes later, holding three.

"You better not try to pay for anything, Lun. We are taking you out."

"As you please…"

They left three hours later, after riding the roller coaster, the Ferris wheel, and after Ginny had won three stuffed animal to Luna (Harry had tried but tossing balls weren't really his speciality - he might have pouted). The blonde was grinning and had re-distributed the prizes so it was one each. the ginger and Harry only relented and accepted one after the Claw had resorted to puppy eyes, though. Ginny apparated them directly into the flat, the flowers they had given Luna sat beautifully in a vase on the dinner table. Luna's smile widened even more.

"Thank you, really. You didn't have to…"

"We wanted to," Harry said softly.

"Yeah, you deserve the best," Ginny stated.

"Want hot cocoa?" the boy asked.

"Definitely." Both girls said simultaneously and grinned at each other as Harry entered the kitchen.

Ginny was still smiling when she pulled Luna closer into a hug, she was leaning on the counter simply holding the blonde. Luna felt good in her arms, safe. The Claw was shorter than the Gryffindor and her head was tugged under the lioness' chin, moving slowly, the blonde kissed the underside of the ginger's jaw. Ginny looked down, they were both serious but their eyes betrayed their joy. It took only two seconds (time enough to make a decision and make sure it wouldn't bother the other), Luna leaned up and pressed a kiss on Ginny's lips. She felt alive, even more, when the ginger pulled her closer and moved a hand to her cheek. On their own accord, the blonde's arms wrapped themselves around the other's shoulders. It was a slow sweet kiss but certainly, the longest they had ever shared, they were both grinning when they parted after Harry cleared his throat from the other side of the counter. Ginny turned around with an eyebrow raised.

"The chocolate will get cool…" Harry said quietly, his cheeks red.

"Right…" the redhead said in an amused tone. Luna moved from Ginny's arms, boosted herself onto the counter and wrapped her legs around the ginger. No words were needed. The blonde pecked the lioness' lips then leaned through her current seat, reaching for Harry. Ginny caressed Luna's thighs over the dress as the Claw kissed the seeker. Luna moaned into Harry's mouth making Ginny's grip tighten, the man simply leaned in the blonde's direction and held her neck. When they broke the kiss, Harry and Ginny exchanged glances.

"Luna, can I ask you something?" the redhead asked softly (though her voice sounded a few octaves lower).

"Sure, you know you can."

"Uh," Ginny sounded flustered. Harry skirted the counter, standing behind Ginny and offering her one of the cups of cocoa. Luna reached for her's since it was next to her. The ginger took a deep breath after a small sip. "Would you like to be our girlfriend?"

Luna grinned and nodded. She kissed the tip of Ginny's nose (to which the redhead made a complaining noise) and pecked her lips before pecking Harry's. "Of course I would, silly witch."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello my dear readers! It's me, your friendly neighbour Celtic!
> 
> Wooooohoo! A chapter on Luna's and Ginny's POV! (I've been meaning to do that for a while). What did you think about the date? A good one? I secretly (not really) love writing Luna...
> 
> In case you are wondering, the meaning of the flowers (in reference to Imagine Me and You): The Tiger Lily means 'I dare you to love me' and the Red Tulip is a declaration of love.
> 
> Please comment, I'm always pleased to learn what you think! And leave kudos! (please)
> 
> ;3
> 
> See Yah!
> 
> PS: If you feel like sending me requests suggestions or prompts, feel free to reach me by PM or email me: celticdaughterfics (gmail)


	44. Chapter 43

Hermione smiled as she saw her trio of friends leave the apartment.

"They are cute together, aren't they?" She said now looking at her girlfriend.

"Oui. But we are more." The French answered while hugging her.

"I might have to agree to that…" The lioness kissed her but pulled away quickly, "before I forget, I should get these to the flat." Fleur nodded, despite the pout on her lips. "You know it will take just a moment." Hermione smiled, kissing the pout and disapparating. She moved quickly when she appeared inside her and Harry's flat, accioing a vase, casting Aguamenti to fill it up and a cooling spell on the water, as flowers supposedly had a longer lifespan if kept on cool water. She placed the flower vase on the table and left.

"Zat was quick indeed…" Fleur said when she was again in her arms.

"I had a great motivation to be quick." Hermione smiled as pecked the other's cheek.

"Uhmm…" the blonde grinned, moving herself and the lioness to the couch. She laid down, with the younger woman over her giggling. "What do you want to do, ma Reine?"

"Definitely stay here." Hermione nuzzled her girlfriend's neck, making the French woman moan quietly. She felt the blonde tighten her hold on her when she began placing open-mouthed kisses along her neck and onto her jaw until she reached her mouth. They both moaned as they deepened the kiss. They stayed like that until one of their stomachs growled (maybe it was both of them) and Fleur carried the brunette to her captive bench by the counter and began cooking. "Not that I mind, but you know I can walk right?" Hermione teased.

"Oui," The blonde winked at her, smiling. "Wine?"

"Oui," Hermione answered easily. She could see the cerulean eyes' pupils dilate before they changed into orange ones. The blonde summoned a bottle of wine and two glasses before she walked to the brunette and kissed her deeply and senseless. She felt the loss of the veela's lips too quickly and whined before she could regain control of herself. Fleur smirked.

The blonde made them both a light dinner, something Hermione appreciated very much and happily showed it to Fleur by kissing her silly when they sat back on the couch to cuddle and read. A few hours later, a first yawn made them both smile and without a word, move to get ready to bed. They slept facing each other, smiling into the other's warmth.

"Bonjour, ma belle…" Hermione heard as she stirred, making her smile.

"G'morning, babe…" She mumbled back, moving more into the other woman's warmth.

"Eet's almost noon, mon Ange"

"So?"

"I believe you were zee one suggesting zat our friends came 'er for lunch…" Fleur whispered, kissing her temple.

"Right…" Hermione rolled so she was facing the ceiling. "You know, I'm not usually this lazy. That's your fault, but I'm really not complaining." She laughed, getting up and being followed by the veela, who pinned her against the nearest wall.

"I bet I can keep you awake too," The blonde said in a whisper, blowing softly in her ear and effectively making her shiver. Fleur kissed her deeply, tearing a loud moan from her. The blonde smirked and let go, leaving a leg-weaken Hermione in her wake. Breathing deeply and rolling her eyes at her girlfriend's antics, the brunette got ready for the day.

She followed Fleur to the kitchen as the blonde readied herself quicker, being awake for longer than her. Hermione sat, watching her veela cut some fresh fruits for them and sipping the coffee the blonde had poured her as soon as she reached the room.

"This coffee is different," she commented after tasting it a few times.

"Oui, zis one maman sent me after I complained about British coffee… Eets from a family producteur near 'ome."

"It's surprisingly better than the other…"

"I can send some to Dobby…"

"No, I rather only drink this with you," Hermione smiled, winking.

They ate the sliced fruit, stealing kisses from one another occasionally, then Fleur went back to the kitchen to begin lunch.

"'ermione?" Fleur called from the kitchen while the brunette was reading a french spellbook (translated, thank you very much) while laying on the couch.

"Yes, Love?" Hermione got up and walked to the other room.

"Could you please open a wine bottle to let eet breathe?"

"Sure," she took one bottle (obviously not the ones intended only for the two of them) from the wine cellar and showed to Fleur. "This one?"

"Oui"

She opened it, leaving the bottle by the wall on the counter and fixed the table for the five of them. She abandoned the book she was reading in order to watch the blonde work, she admired the older woman for not doing the work with magic and she could see the blonde enjoyed cooking. That was something that stunned her since she got to know her better, a pure magical person such as Fleur (she might not be pureblood but she didn't have muggles in the closest family) doing most of her daily tasks the muggle way. It actually made her feel even more at home if she was, to be honest with herself. She smiled watching how expertly the veela divided her attention between every step of the meal. An hour later, Fleur turned the stove off and not ten minutes later the doorbell rang. Hermione smiled at the blonde as she got up to get the door.

"Hey!" She greeted her friends, seeing Harry hugging Luna from behind and Ginny holding her hand happily.

"Hullo…" Ginny said after they were inside and the other two greeted Hermione. "I hope we're not too late…"

"Non, you are just in time!" Fleur smiled at them while levitating wine glasses towards them. "Wine?" They all accepted.

The small talk was cut short when Fleur ushered them to the table, not wanting to serve the food cold. She placed the dish on the table and smiled.

"So, what is it?" Ginny asked as they served themselves. "Looks like shepherd's pie…"

"You could say eet's zee French version… Eets Hachis Parmentier."

They ate in silence except for enthusiastic praises to Fleur's cooking abilities.

"I wish we had your expertise while we were camping…" Harry said as he finished his second serving.

"Oh, that would have been amazing!" Hermione agreed, they all knew he was referencing to the period they spent Horcrux hunting. "Much less canned meals…"

"That's when you didn't decide to cook…" Harry teased, grimacing.

"Oh shush! I tried once or twice."

"Yeah, one of them you almost burned the place."

"Always talking about that…" Hermione rolled her eyes and saw Fleur laugh at their banter.

"I'm not sure I would be capable of making any of zee dishes you ate until now on a camping stove…"

"Well, I am glad you are dating 'Mione and we get to eat your food." Ginny grinned at the blonde who simply agreed with her.

"So, how was your date?" Hermione smiled, her gaze going from Ginny to Harry to Luna and them going back to the redhead, all of them blushing.

"Zat good uh?" Fleur laughed.

Luna gushed about the date, telling them how completely sweet Ginny and Harry had been. The two of them blushed even more while the younger blonde talked. Hermione was happy for them. The group decided to go to the movies together and set out. By the end of the night, the group parted. The trio going to the flat and then to Hogwarts, while Fleur and Hermione stayed in the blonde's apartment. The silence that hovered between them was anything but uncomfortable as they knew how saddened they were for having to part ways even if it wasn't for too long. Hermione loved the school but having to be away from Fleur wasn't at all the best thing that happened to her. They lost track of time in each other's arms, standing in the middle of the living room.

"I hate this." She mumbled against Fleur's shoulder.

"I know, chéri. But soon zee winter 'olidays will be 'ere and we won't part from each other at all." Fleur smiled into her temple, kissing it.

"Oh, the holidays!" Fleur chuckled at the brunette's excitement. "We need to plan it, babe!"

"Oui… We need to stay some time with your parents, at zee burrow as I'm sure Molly will invite us and zere's France…" The blonde smiled as the lioness nodded. "And I was 'oping you would be willing to get some time away, only zee two of us."

"I'd love to, Love."

"We can zroughly plan everything later?" The brunette nodded. "You should get going, ma Reine. You need a good night of sleep to begin zee week well…"

"You are right. But I'm sure I'll not have such a good night as you won't be with me…" Hermione smiled sweetly. "I know you need a good night too…"

"Wouldn't be bad. Bill and I will be joining zee searches at zee Manor tomorrow. Eet's taking too long for zem to find zat knife and I want to get your arm 'ealed."

"I know, you'll find it sooner or later… I really should go. I love you, Fleur…" Hermione pulled the blonde into a deep kiss and then left.

It was Wednesday when Hermione was greeted by her grinning girlfriend when arriving back at her living quarters after dinner.

"To what do we owe the honour?" Ginny teased as she, Luna and Harry followed Hermione into the room. Hermione was happily hugging her girlfriend.

"I 'ave great news…" Fleur smiled at the others and then looked at Hermione. "We found zee knife."

"I told you you'd find it!" Hermione smiled, kissing Fleur's cheek.

"Narcissa ees analyzing eet…" Fleur smiled, still holding Hermione.

They stayed together until Fleur yawned and the lioness insisted that she should go home and get some sleep.

* * *

The veela had already decided she would help with the search and went to the Ministry to talk to Tonks, then head there. Apparently, the head of the department decided the same thing, as she was waiting for her at the office.

"I'd say you were thinking about me…" Tonks smirked.

"Oui…"

"Oh, Hermione won't be pleased." The metamorphmagus laughed.

"You wish" Fleur smirked.

"So, I was waiting for you and Bill." Her boss returned to her work mode. "Little cousin sent me a request for you. It seems the team reached a few rooms Draco knows are cursed and he thinks it would be better if you two went there to help. What did you want to talk about?"

"The same zing but I didn't know about Draco."

"Impatient much?" Tonks smiled. "I get it. Look, you and Bill go. I'll train the babies until you guys find it. Oh, the manor only allows non Malfoys inside while there's one there. Draco has direct instructions for only staying there during the day, no overworking."

Fleur entered the Manor with confidence, being greeted by the whole team, it was the beginning of the third day of her working with Draco and the search team. She was determined to find the blade today. The blondes and Bill had met, out of the mansion, after-hours to analyze the rooms they still had to go through and try to guess where it could be. The team was gathered in the living room, she walked in followed by Bill and they greeted them. Draco popped into existence by her side as she and Bill faced the aurors. He had been there since before dawn, ordering the House-elves to make food for everyone as his mother couldn't enter the house. The team was divided into two groups, each headed by Bill and her. Draco was expected to go between both, to help to identify the objects they would find, all of them were wearing protective clothing as always to make sure none would be affected by any magic in there. About midday, the team was gathered and the elves served lunch. They resumed the work, the room Fleur headed then was strongly protected by an endless amount of spells and curses. The witch performed a complicated spell, something she had learned from her grandmère, that helped in identifying the speller of the curses through her veela. She had been doing that since the beginning of the day (she had just remembered the spell, to be honest). Having fought with Bellatrix made her familiar with her magic and her veela identified it as soon as she cast the spell. She smirked. It was there. Fleur sent a patronus to Bill requesting him to get there with his team. It all happened in less than five minutes and she noticed her group looked confused as to what was happening. When the redhead appeared there, the elves apparated them there, she smiled at him and Draco, who had been helping him.

"I believe zee knife ees in zere." She affirmed, making both men look confused and the aurors even more. "Zee room reeks of 'er magic." They nodded but seemed still confused. Fleur smirked and added in a whisper to both men: "Veela trick. I just remembered eet existed."

Fleur and Bill worked together with the awards, it took more than half an hour for them to open the door. The blonde was growing impatient but knew they had to do it the right way. The following three hours were spent with them scavenging the room but finally one of the aurors found it, in its holster. Another one found what seemed to be a journal.

"She probably wrote everything there, mom said she had the costume of registering her inventions. And that matches the description mom gave me… She said that's all she needs." Draco said, looking horrified at both items.

Fleur dismissed the aurors and sighed relieved. "Let's get zem to 'er." She placed the knife and journal inside a protected box and smiled at the two men by her side. "Draco, 'ave you tried to go to a mind 'ealer? Zey might be able to 'elp with your memories. I'm sure 'aving to live with zem and be forced to carry zee mark didn't do good to you."

"Surprisingly, I haven't. I guess I keep thinking I deserve this."

"You don't, kid," Bill said looking worried.

"Thanks" the blonde man whispered pained. "Thanks for caring…"

"Of course," Fleur said as she and Bill held his shoulders.

Nodding, Draco disapparated from the manor with them. They appeared at St Mungo's Hospital's apparition point and hurried to find Narcissa.

"Mom!" Draco said loudly, catching the woman's attention. She ran to him and begun checking him for injuries. "I'm just fine, mom. No scratches, no burns or anything."

Fleur chuckled at the sight, making the woman look at her and notice he wasn't alone. By looking at Fleur she understood. "You found it." They simply nodded, proudly.

"The blade and the journey as per request." The young Slytherin beamed at his mother. "Now, if you excuse me, I'll follow Delacour's suggestion and find me a mind healer." He left, leaving Narcissa slightly confused.

"I noticed 'ow 'e looked at zee blades and some of zee other objects at zee manor and asked 'im about zee treatment…"

"I didn't think about it."

"Exactly what 'e told me." Fleur noticed how guilty the older witch looked, "Eet's not your fault, Narcissa eet was out of your 'ands. 'e will be fine."

"I guess I need to get one too…" The woman sighed. "Uhm, I'll begin analyzing these right away. I expect to be done by Saturday, the diary will help. She had the habit of taking note of all her experiences. What will take longer will be figuring out the counter-spells and potions, the list of what she used might be ready tomorrow morning. After hearing it's about Miss Granger the director of the hospital made sure to select the best healers for the task." She smiled.

"Thank you, Narcissa." Fleur smiled back before the healer scurried away and she and Bill walked back to the apparition point.

The blonde appeared home and looked at the clock, calculating how much time she had before her girlfriend headed back to her quarters (only enough to change). She hurried and flooed to the castle. The woman had time only to sit when she heard the portrait open. Fleur saw Hermione's expression transform from almost completely drained to absolutely happy.

"To what do we owe the honour?" Ginny teased as she, Luna and Harry followed Hermione into the room. Fleur had hurriedly rushed to hold Hermione

"I 'ave great news…" Fleur smiled at the others and then looked at her girlfriend. "We found zee knife."

"I told you you'd find it!" Hermione smiled, kissing Fleur's cheek.

"Narcissa ees analyzing eet…" Fleur felt her heart flutter with the kiss (she was used to it now, it happened whenever they were together and the lioness showed affection) "She says zat until Saturday she will 'ave everything figured out." They stayed together (the blonde eventually getting something to eat from Dobby) until Fleur yawned and the lioness insisted that she should go home and get some sleep. "See you Friday?"

"Obviously." Hermione rolled her eye, laughing. "Even if we didn't have to work…"

"Uhm" Fleur kissed the lioness deeply and laughed at how she sought her lips after she pulled away (she earned a mock glare at this). "Goodnight, mon Coeur…"

"Night, Love." They kissed again then Fleur stepped into the fireplace and went back home.

The French woman spent the rest of the week at the manor, still helping with the curses as the division wanted to get the place all checked as soon as possible. Draco filed a request to close the building magically as he had no intentions to move back there (too many memories, Fleur guessed) and it would be done as soon as the house was cleaned up. They finished the job that Friday, the manor was locked already and Fleur was tired. That's an understatement, she was fucking drained. They used magic to speed up the process of cleaning and Fleur had been working since dawn. She went home, changed and flooed to the castle. The blonde smiled at the sight of her girlfriend sitting on the couch, talking to her friends while waiting for her. She waved a greeting and dropped herself by Hermione's side not very graciously. She felt herself melt into the lioness body as she hugged her.

"Hey" the brunette whispered, "you ok?"

"I'm just tired." The blonde offered, knowing her girlfriend was worried. "I've been working since dawn today to finish cleaning zat Putain de manoir so eet could be locked. I guess eet drained me…"

"So you finished with the mansion." Hermione kissed the top of her head and Fleur swooned at how caring it felt. She nodded, feeling herself melting even more as the lioness began drawing patterns on her side.

"Hey, we are heading to the Great Hall, okay?" Ginny said, softly.

"I'm sorry I didn't greet you properly…"

"Don't worry, we get the drained thing…" Harry smiled. Luna caressed her shoulder wordlessly and Fleur smiled at her.

"I guess we could skip work today. We are almost finished anyway…" Hermione made Fleur lay her head on her lap. "You hungry?" The blonde nodded. She heard the lioness calling Dobby and asking him for their food. After eating, Fleur moved so she was facing Hermione and rested her forehead on the brunette's shoulder. "You are really tired aren't you?" She nodded, looking at her girlfriend. "I guess we could go to bed earlier…" She guided her upstairs. Fleur felt so drained that she almost simply dropped face down on the bed but Hermione made her go through her nightly routine, even helping her with her pyjamas (the lioness blushed the whole time, making Fleur chuckle a little). Once they were both ready, Hermione guided the blonde to the bed.

"Uh, I must be really lucky, getting in bed with you…" Fleur chuckled.

"Shush, silly french woman." Hermione rolled her eyes. "And yes, you are." She beamed. Fleur got under the covers and waited for the lioness to join her before turning around and letting herself be held by the brunette.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello my dear readers! It's me, your friendly neighbour Celtic!
> 
> So, Fleur found the knife! Exhausted Fleur is one of my favourites! Quite a bit of Fluff...
> 
> Please review, I'm always pleased to learn what you think!
> 
> ;3
> 
> See Yah!
> 
> PS: If you feel like sending me requests suggestions or prompts, feel free to reach me by PM or email me: celticdaughterfics (gmail)


	45. Chapter 44

Dobby woke them up the next day with an apologetic smile.

"Headmistress sent Dobby to say you are expected at her office in an hour. Dobby is sorry he woke you up…" His ears deflated. "Professor McGonagall is waiting with Miss Black." He popped out of existence before any of them could process what he had said.

"Did Dobby just say Professor McGonagall is waiting for us?" Hermione asked after closing her eyes again and holding Fleur closer.

"Umm…" The blonde nodded. "Bonjour, 'ermione…" She said, kissing her neck.

"Good morning, Love" the lioness kissed her softly. "He said something about a Miss Black too, right?"

Fleur nodded then her head shot up from where it was resting (Hermione's chest - what? It was comfy!), painfully connecting with the lioness chin. They both grunted in pain. "Sorry…" The blonde managed to say. "Eet's Narcissa." She added after the peak of pain faded, massaging her head. Hermione's eyes widened.

"You think she figured it all out?"

"She promised so, mon chér"

"Right… Should we get ready?" Hermione smiled, watching the blonde get up. Fleur hummed, "you seem more eager than myself…"

"I doubt zat…" The blonde looked back as retrieved their clothes for the day. "I just want to support you…"

"Aww, I know that, babe…" Hermione smiled softly at the stunning blonde.

"Eet seems painful and I don't like zee idea of you 'urting."

"Thanks for caring. I'm ok, though." Hermione walked to the bathroom after the blonde gave her the clothes. They got ready quickly, descending the stairs silently so they wouldn't wake the trio on the other room. Hermione wrote a note on a piece of parchment letting them know they would be in the Headmistress' office. It was so early that there was no one in the hallways leading to the office. They were greeted by Minerva a moment after they knocked on the door.

"Good morning, ladies" She smiled at them and moved so they could come in.

"Fleur! You received my owl!" Narcissa exclaimed.

"No, Cissy. She was already here." Minerva laughed and both younger women blushed. The healer looked confused. "Hermione, Ginny, Luna, and Harry are here in a special circumstance. There are a few rules being bent for them. Well, more specifically Hermione and Harry but Miss Weasley and Miss Lovegood are always with them and the four are practically the only ones that fought that came back for their last year."

"That and, according to my son, Miss Granger is your favourite student..." Narcissa added bluntly, smirking.

"Well, I can't say it's a lie." Minerva gave Hermione a small smile. The lioness blushed even more. "I'm sorry I called you so early."

"Yes, I'm sorry it's so early but my crazy sister did put an awful amount of spells and potions in that blade and it will take a long time to revert all of them." They nodded. "There is a team prepared to treat you at St. Mungo's, all under confidentiality contracts as per Minerva's request. My guess is that it will take a little over 24 hours." Another nod.

"I'll let the trio know where you are and that you are allowed visits."

"Right, let us get this done," Hermione said her jaw set. Fleur felt the lioness' anxiety spike up and placed a hand on the small of her back, drawing calming patterns. She felt her relax a little and received a thankful glance.

"Do you need to get anything before we go?" Narcissa asked.

"I don't think so."

"Eef you remember anything I can get eet to you zen…" Hermione nodded and smiled.

"I'll go later with the trio to visit you." Minerva smiled at her.

"We are going directly to the hospital, just say St. Mungo's Hospital." Narcissa offered, as the three women grabbed some floo powder.

As soon as they arrived at the hospital, Narcissa ushered them into the room that had been prepared for Hermione and asked them to wait while she called the team. Hermione sat on the stretcher, while Fleur stood by her side, holding her hand. The fact that she had no clue about the procedures that would be taking place made the lioness feel uneasy, she really hated not knowing.

The healer came back with six more following her, "Miss Delacour, I'd advise you to sit. It's going to be a while after all… Miss Granger, would you lay down please?"

"Please, call me Hermione. We are family after all…" She said with a smile. When they were both accommodated, the older witch began explaining the treatment while the rest of the team scurried around gathering what would be needed.

"Well, the treatment consists of three steps. Firstly, before I explain this to you, I'm sorry but I have to ask, when was the last time you used the potion I gave you, Hermione?"

"Two weeks. We used it the dawn of the Monday that Fleur went back to work and I to class…"

"I'm glad it hasn't reopened since then. If it had been used more recently we would have to wash the potion off of your arm. Luckily we won't have to…" Narcissa smiled and nodded. "As I was saying, three steps. The first one is using counter-spell and antidote potions to get rid of all the magic still on the wound. That one is the second longer procedure, as there are many curses and potions. It will also open the cut once more, the first counter-spell or potion we use on you will open it again, I'm sorry. The second stage is about the flesh that got in contact with that much dark-magic, to heal properly, we need to get rid of all that. So we will have all the sick tissue removed. The Third step is the proper healing. I'm not able to say it won't leave a scar, I'm really sorry." Hermione noticed The older witch's eyes were sorrowful and sad.

"Narcissa, it's not your fault and you know it. I happen to have been on that mad woman's hands, you have no blame in it. You weren't the one torturing me, you weren't the one that caught me and the boys. Stop. No one blames you. You were a great asset to our side at the end of the war as was Draco, before that you were both scared and primed for each other's lives. You are doing a magnificent job as a healer, you are helping on the searches for Lucius. Stop feeling guilty, what's in the past is in the past and is better left there. You are a good person and if someone is unable to see that, they probably never had their family threatened and thorn away from them." Hermione said calmly, something long overdue. The woman in front of her had to take a few deep breaths before she could speak again, the other healers were out of the room at the moment probably to finish gathering the material they would need.

"Thank you, Hermione." Narcissa's voice broke a little, "You are really a great witch." The other healers came back one by one. By the end of their travels, there was an alarming amount of flasks on the bedside table, a couple of scrolls with them. Hermione had a feeling it had no way that this treatment would be painless, she grimaced at the thought.

"Miss Granger, as the procedure will probably be painful we will put you under a painkiller potion." One of the healers informed her and began setting up a type of magic IV. "We need you awake most of the time so the IV will keep us from giving you too much and therefore make you sleep, or having to make you take small doses every now and then. It reads your level of pain and doses the potion just so you don't feel it."

"Thank you." She said after the healer punctured her arm (opposite to the one that needed healing.

"You might still feel a little sleepy."

Hermione nodded at that. Narcissa cast a finite spell so the wound was now visible. The whole room gasped with the exception of the older witch, Hermione, and Fleur. The lioness heard a few expletives as they read what had been written on her arm.

"I'm the one responsible for casting the counter-spells, Hermione. We will remove most of the spells first than move to the potions. Once they are over, I'll cast a couple more and then we will move to the next stage. Ok?" Narcissa informed, sitting by Hermione. "I'll need to get your outstretched arm immobile like that just so we have access to it." She moved her arm to the desired position, resting against a cushioned armrest and cast a bonding spell (Hermione could still move her hand but the arm itself never left the position it was left in). "This will hurt a little before the painkiller acts." She added apologetically and faced the wounded arm.

Narcissa began, as promised her arm began to hurt as soon as the spell reached it but soon the pain was gone. She could feel the spells reaching her arm but no pain. Fleur began drawing soothing circles on her other arm as soon as the first spell hit her. Hermione wondered if she would be feeling any pain if she wasn't under the potion and had only the veela to keep it from her. She was almost certain she wouldn't. It took about two hours, then the potions began to be purred over her arm, some of them washed through the word and some were absorbed. As Narcissa was casting the last counter-spell, her friends and professor came into the door carrying food. The healer smiled and greeted them. The other healers had already left the room. The Black elder then took the last vial on the table and poured on her arm then removed the IV with a flick of the wand. She began bandaging the open and angry wound after releasing her arm from the imprisonment spell.

"It's only to keep it protected until we begin the cleaning. I'll be back in a couple of hours to resume the treatment." Narcissa explained. It was almost lunchtime (what explained the food that the visiting group brought).

"Won't you eat with us?" Hermione asked, rather groggy, as the healer began to leave. She understood her body had been under a lot of magic and probably was tired of processing it.

"Uh-" Narcissa stopped on her tracks.

"We brought enough food for a small army." Harry offered. "I guess Dobby heard you were supposed to stay overnight and decided he would provide you with food. For a lifetime." He laughed.

"Sure Ginny won't be able to eat it all?" Hermione quipped with a smirk.

Harry shook his head. "Too much even for her." He kissed the redhead's cheek as she rolled her eyes and flashed her tongue at her best friend. Fleur and Luna simply laughed at the exchange while the older witches seemed amused by their antics.

"Anyway, you are invited to join us, Cissy." McGonagall offered and the other witch relented.

"So, how's it going?" Harry asked worriedly after they began to eat near Hermione's bed as she was feeling a bit dizzy from the painkillers.

"I'm dark-magic-free right now…" She spoke with a smile as if it was really funny in her mind. Merlin, she was really dizzy. "I'm pretty sure the most painful moment is yet to happen…" Her face darkened.

"Unfortunately you are right, dear," Narcissa said with an apologetic smile.

"Figured…"

They ate in silence then, each in their own thoughts. Fleur finished eating sat by Hermione, both enjoying the proximity… After a while, Narcissa excused herself and said she would be back in an hour with the cleaning solution and McGonagall also went on her way as she had the school to take care.

"Did you bring anything? Like pyjamas, books…?" Ginny asked after they were alone.

"Non, I should go get zem…"

"I was going to offer to get them, actually…" The redhead smiled. "I know you keep her calm and Narcissa just said the worst part is yet to come so I can go…"

Fleur nodded. "Would you mind getting me my pyjamas too? And zee book on zee bedside table?"

"Sure. But, uh, how do I get to your apartment?"

"Zrough zee front door?" Fleur eyed the ginger quizzically.

"But…"

"Fleur included you three on her wards. You guys can easily use the floo there, right?" The three nodded as Hermione began to explain, "You can't now because she's not home, but you are able to open the door-"

"Since when?" Harry asked curiously.

"'ermione since I came back from France," Fleur snickered. "You and zee girls since after zee infamous Girl's night…" Fleur beamed.

"So we have been knocking for you to open unnecessarily?" Ginny asked awestruck.

"No, you have been polite." Hermione deadpans, making everyone laugh.

"Right, I'll be back in a few," Ginny said after the laughter died down and left, gesturing for Harry and Luna to stay.

"So I heard you were quite impatient on Wednesday…" Harry began with a smirk, directing his attention to Fleur, who began to blush. At her questioning look and raised eyebrow, he continued: "I met one of the aurors that worked on the searches yesterday when I went to the ministry to deliver some paperwork to Tonks…"

"Oh…"

"He says you even used some veela magic to find the right room…"

"I-" Fleur began to answer, her cheeks getting redder.

"So I heard we have a newly dark-magic-free member of the Golden Trio here!" Tonks barged into the door with her usual bubblegum pink hair, beaming.

"Hey, Tonks!" Hermione greeted her and heard the blonde by her side exhale the breath she was holding and relax a little.

"How are my favourite post-war heroes today?" The auror said after winking at the lioness.

Hermione groaned at the so-called title, "Merlin, I hate being called a hero."

"You can call 'er war royalty, she likes zat better." Fleur offered with a smirk, Hermione looked at her scandalized and then at Tonks.

"Please don't!" The lioness pleaded.

"Ok, so how are you?"

"As good as someone that has been on the receiving end of thirty counterspells, as far as I could count, and subject to twenty different potions can feel…" Hermione felt tired even if it was basically only mid-afternoon.

"As expected…" Tonks smiled apologetically.

Fleur had moved to lay on the stretcher beside Hermione after enlarging it a bit and was caressing the lioness' head while holding her; Luna and Harry were occupying the couch in front of the bed, Luna had her head on Harry's lap and Tonks sat at one of the armchairs left. They talked softly after Hermione fell asleep on Fleur's arms.

"So I had to go to Hogwarts because I remembered you were reading a book and guessed she left it there…" Ginny barged into the room talking loudly, only to be shushed by Harry. "Sorry…" She said as soon as she saw Hermione waking up.

"It's ok, Gin." She slurred.

"Hey, Tonks…" The redhead noticed the metamorphmagus in the room. She handled the bag she was carrying to Fleur and went to sit on the armrest of the couch, beside Harry.

Narcissa re-entered the room then, carrying what seemed to be an aquarium. "Hello again…" She noticed the curious gazes. "Cleaning potion," She directed her attention to Hermione. "This won't be pleasurable. The tissue affected goes a little deep so I'll need to cast a couple vortex spells, you'll have your arm inside this for about five hours. Honestly, it will be painful and ugly… Then we will get you some healing potions and keep you here to make sure you'll heal fine." Hermione nodded and Narcissa set to work. She linked the IV to her arm once again, cast the vortex spells and made sure Hermione was comfortable and with her arm completely immersed in the crystalline potion.

Three hours later, Tonks had left the hospital after being called back to the ministry and the trio and Fleur were trying to distract Hermione from the gruesome state of the liquid moving around her arm. It was bloodstained and kind of muddy. The lioness was aware of their efforts and very grateful too even if it didn't fully work. If she was to tell the truth, what really was making her relax was the thrall that her veela was sending her. She was very curious about that, the rest of the room occupants didn't seem to be affected by it nor any of the nurses. If she thought hard enough she was able to remember that the only thrall that affected everyone was some kind of calling, something Fleur didn't have complete control over. A few healers were affected but were also quickly dismissed by Narcissa, who seemed to be the chief of her treatment.

"Ma Reine, what 'as you zinking so 'ard?" Fleur chuckled, rousing Hermione from her musings.

"Nothing really, I'm just curious about your thrall. That's all…"

"In what aspect?"

"Well, how it works and how it develops itself."

Fleur was nodding when the trio went to them to say goodbye since they had plans for the evening. They resumed their conversation as soon as the group left.

"I zink we can research eet while we are in France, what do you zink?"

"Good I think… You think we will be able to have direct access to the archives?"

"I'm sure. Grandmère heard Papa saying you read his book in less than a month and said zee flock's library is at your disposal…"

"Really?"

"Oui. Well, I guess I never told you zat but she's zee clan's leader -"

"I guessed so… She's the oldest Delacour alive right?"

"Oui. But zee zing ees, our Clan leads zee French flock."

"Flock? Oh, I read about it in your father's book and notebooks but it never talked about it more extensively…"

"Zat's because only women are allowed in zee flock. Most secrets of zee race are kept between zee female Veelas…"

"You are quite feminists…" Hermione chuckled. Fleur smiled and nodded. "So, your Clan leads the Veela Flock in France." The blonde nodded. "I assume even if the males aren't really allowed in it, they are kind of ruled by it." Another nod. "And you are full of surprises. You are some kind of princess then?"

"You could say zat, I don't really like to zink about eet. Maman ees zee 'eir since eet works similarly to zee 'ead of 'ouses 'ere."

"Right…" Hermione was listening to everything intently. "But -"

"As my mate and female, you are - or will be - allowed in zee Flock, 'ermione." Hermione nodded at this. "And I'm sorry I didn't tell you zis right away…"

"Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Living 'ere keeps me away from zee politics, Grandmère sent me an update yesterday along with zee invite for you to zee library. 'onestly, I don't care much about eet… I'm trained to rule, Maman made sure of eet. I zink I 'aven't zought about eet ever since I joined zee order…"

"Imminent death…" Fleur simply nodded. They stayed silent for a bit. "I'm glad we survived…"

"Ditto"

"Apart from the whole 'you don't think much about it'…" Fleur hummed, not looking at Hermione's face. "You were totally worried I was going to freak after hearing this."

"Non."

"Fleur…"

"Okay, I was. Eet's just zat I 'ad so many fucked up friendships because of eet… And I know eet was stupid of me-"

"You are not stupid. And I get it. To be honest, I had already come to the conclusion your family was some kind of big deal…"

"Zee brightest indeed" The blonde chuckled, earning a playful slap in the arm.

"Don't be afraid of telling me stuff, Fleur."

"Sorry, really…"

"Okay, just don't let it happen again…" Fleur nodded and leaned to kiss Hermione on the lips.

They stayed quiet for a while until the blonde moved to the purse containing their clothes and books. She rummaged a bit then sat back beside the lioness with a victorious smirk. Hermione smiled when she noticed what she had grabbed. Fleur began reading, the brunette focused on her voice. An hour later, Narcissa entered the room seeming tired but smiling.

"I think we're finished with the cleaning potion. I'll just examine to be sure." She took Hermione's arm from the liquid after terminating the spells on it and ran a diagnosis spell. "Right, all cleaned. Hermione, I think I won't be able to remove completely the scar… The damage was really deep-"

"It's ok, Narcissa. I had already guessed this much. The fact that it won't be sliced open again is enough for me, as it is being free of dark magic…" Hermione smiled, she did guess such a thing. Powerful magic left scars and that dagger was full of them apparently.

"Ok then, I'll dress your arm for the night then. It will be healed tomorrow morning and I'll be here to discharge you."

"Thank you, Narcissa."

"I need you to take these potions before you sleep. They are simple but strong healing potions and a painkiller as your arm will probably begin throbbing as soon as the IV potion wears out." Hermione nodded and Fleur smiled gratefully.

As soon as the older witch left, the blonde helped the lioness to change and they went to sleep. Fleur holding Hermione carefully not to jolt her arm.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello my dear readers! It's me, your friendly neighbour Celtic!
> 
> What did you think about this second healing process? I confess some inspiration might have come from The Athena chronicles once again (huge inspiration, honestly). I hope I managed to explain everything in an intelligible manner...
> 
> Please comment, I'm always pleased to learn what you think! Luv your kudos too!
> 
> ;3
> 
> See Yah!
> 
> PS: If you feel like sending me requests suggestions or prompts, feel free to reach me by PM or email me: celticdaughterfics (gmail)


	46. Chapter 45

Fleur woke up still holding Hermione, her face buried in the lioness mane and her scent clouding her not fully awaken mind. She heard some steps in the room and it made her get completely aware of her surroundings. Narcissa. Her Veela recognized her. She noticed Hermione's breathing pattern change and noticed her stirring. She moved from the bed carefully after placing a soft kiss on Hermione's forehead.

"I'm sorry I woke you up. It wasn't my intention…" Narcissa said softly and smiled at her. She shook her head smiling back.

"Good morning, Narcissa."

"Good morning… I'll let them know you are awake so you can have breakfast." Narcissa started to the door. "Then I'll run some tests to make sure Hermione can be discharged."

"I definitely could do with some coffee. And a discharge would be great too." The lioness' voice was still thick with sleep. Fleur kissed her cheek, laughing. A low pop resounded in the room before the elder Black could make her leave.

"Jilpy?" Fleur looked at the house-elf baffled.

"Hello, miss Fleur, miss Hermione…" She looked a little frightened when she saw Narcissa at the door, but greeted her anyway. "Dobby said you were here and I asked the elves here to let me know when you were awake…" She explained a little embarrassed. The couple nodded and the healer seemed shocked by the presence of the elf.

"Uh…"

"Narcissa, I rescued Jilpy from one of zee properties confiscated from arrested Death Eaters."

"Right, I should have figured." The witch nodded and smiled at the elf.

The elf popped away, then back carrying a medium-sized paper bag and two take-out cups. "Jilpy made sure to have your usual ready for you when you woke up…"

"Thank you, Jilpy. You shouldn't-"

"It's ok."

"Well, since your breakfast has been already solved, I'll leave you to eat. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call." Narcissa left, nodding to the trio.

"She and her son were the only that treated Jilpy better…" The elf smiled. "Dobby sends you his best wishes. Jilpy has to go to work now. Good day misses." Then she popped away.

Hermione sat with Fleur's help, her back leaning on a pile of pillows, and watched the blonde check the cups. "I zink Dobby sent word of your recently acquired liking for coffee." She smiled and handed her one of the cups and then opened the paper bag giving Hermione one of the croissants it held.

In less than half an hour later, Narcissa was back. Fleur began to get ready to leave while the older witch ran the tests she needed to release the lioness. "I just want to check your arm and then you are free to go, Hermione." She informed, smiling, and vanished the wrappings around the previous wound with a flick of her wand. "Uh, I've been hoping that it wouldn't scar, to be completely honest. But I guess we will have to grateful that we were able to get rid of all the dark magic."

"I don't mind the scar," Hermione said softly. Fleur startled and so did Narcissa.

"What do you mean, min couer? Why don't you-"

"It reminds me that I'm strong and that I'm able to overcome hard times. Even with the awful word, it lends me strength." The lioness explained.

"If you say so..." Narcissa nodded, her finger sliding her finger across the scar. "You are free to go. I do recommend that you don't exert yourself today but nothing else."

"Thank you, Cissy." Hermione smiled at her.

"Zanks, Narcissa."

"Oh, and Draco asked me to say that if he hears anything about Lucius he will send word to you immediately." The healer added right before opening the door, Fleur nodded.

The lioness climbed out of the bed and hugged Fleur from her behind, while the blonde looked into the purse Ginny had brought to them. They were still in their pyjamas so the veela was looking for a fresh change of clothes for both of them. Fleur smiled into the embrace caressing her previously injured arm. She took the fresh clothes out still holding her forearm. Her finger tracing the scar.

"What I said is true. It does give me strength..." Hermione offered.

"I know, Cheri. I'm just sad you 'ad to go zrough eet."

"It's in the past, Fleur. If I hadn't gone through it, I wouldn't be who I am now." Hermione said softly into the back of her shoulder. "Now, I'd like to get out of here and spend some time with you." She kissed the nape of Fleur's neck. The blonde sighed smiling and gave the lioness her clothes, waiting for her to come back from the bathroom to change.

They were at Fleur's in less than a couple of hours. Hermione was clearly a bit tired, so Fleur made her take a nap while she cooked lunch for them. The blonde smiled all the while she was in the kitchen. Sometimes she found it hard to believe that she had found her mate and how they were able to connect so deeply as they did. She didn't have to wake her up because she walked into the kitchen as she gave the last touches to the food.

"It smells heavenly, babe." The lioness said sleepily after giving her a peck on the cheek. "I'm glad I'm able to leave Hogwarts for the weekend or I would have to make Dobby come to fetch some of your food for me..."

"I would gladly cook eet for you, ma Reine" she answered brushing her lips lightly against Hermione's. "And you are just in time. Eet's ready." They ate in silence, enjoying each other's presence.

"I think I need a shower..." The brunette said after they finished eating.

"I could fill zee tub for you, a bath might be more relaxing..."

"I think I'd like that, but-"

"I'll get eet ready, you can come to zee bathroom in fifteen." Fleur smiled brightly and Hermione nodded.

The blonde moved to the bathroom and immediately began to fill the tub and then sort through the bath salts she had trying to figure out which of the lioness would like better. She decided on a honey and vanilla bath bomb. With a flick of her wand, she got a clean robe from the cabinet and accioed the shampoo and conditioner flasks.

"Thank you, love." Hermione entered the room smiling.

"I chose zis bath bomb, but eef you want another you can-"

"I'm sure it's perfect." Hermione made Fleur return the ball to its place near the tub and pulled her into a kiss. When they broke the kiss they were both panting.

"I'll wait in zee bedroom..."

"Or you could just get in with me." Fleur heard the tease in Hermione's voice wrapped with obvious lust. They both usually avoided being completely naked in front of the other as they both were aware of how they affected each other. The blonde beamed and shook her head, kissing the brunette softly. It was a promise, they both knew. Both wanted the other but judged that it wasn't the right time. Hermione laughed as Fleur left the bathroom flushing slightly after picturing what she could do with her girlfriend in the tub. "Thank you, Fleur," she said again, still laughing.

"Eef you need anything..."

"Sure. Go. The water will get cold."

"Nope. Eet will stay zee same, mon Coeur. We are witches after all" she teased as she went through the door and closed it.

Hermione got into the tub and sighed, the hot water easing all the tense muscles she had on her body. They were probably because of the hospital bed, she wasn't as tense as she would usually be during the school term. She let the scent involve her but resumed getting clean only leaning back to enjoy the bath again when her hair was up in a bun with conditioner.

She startled with a knock on the door. And it opened slightly.

"'ermione?"

"Yes, love? How long have I been here? I lost track of time..."

"About an 'our and a 'alf..."

"I'll get out in a minute! I'm sorry..."

"It's ok, mon Ange. I just wanted to see eef you needed anything."

"Oh no, dear. It was everything perfect. Thank you, babe!"

Hermione rinsed her hair and carefully left the tub. Wrapping herself in the bathrobe Fleur left for her, she walked out of the bathroom. The lioness heard Fleur's breath hitch and looked at her, smiling.

"I'm sorry, I fell asleep..." She said, reaching out to hug the Veela.

The blonde smiled and shook her head, "I'm glad you enjoyed zee bath, mon Coeur. Now, eef you don't mind, I need to take a shower..."

Hermione nodded, kissed her softly, and let her go. As the blonde walked past her, she slapped her butt lightly. The lioness didn't really mind to get real clothes so she grabbed one of her knickers and some comfort clothes (Fleur's, obviously) and laid on the bed to read. It didn't take long for the blonde to get back to the room, fully clothed. She walked directly to the brunette and stole a kiss.

"I love 'ow you look in my clothes" she stated in a low voice as she kissed Hermione's neck, effectively distracting her.

"Uhm, and how do I look?"

"Mine." The blonde answered bluntly.

Hermione looked away from the book and locked eyes with the blonde. The raspiness of her voice made her shiver and gave enough away to make her aware that she would look into orange eyes before she looked up. She closed the book, cautiously placing it on the bedside table, and sneaked a hand to hold Fleur's neck in order to pull her into a kiss. The veela moved so she could get comfortable and ended up straddling the brunette. Hermione gasped as she felt the blonde's weight settle on top of her, allowing Fleur to deepen the kiss. The unspoken agreement of waiting for the right (and perfect) moment to truly forge their bonding made them both keep the kisses rather modest. Mostly they were loving and caring, when they got too hot, they parted and breathed a little. After some time simply enjoying their kisses, they held each other tenderly and basked in each other presence.

"You know, I never thought I'd have this..." Hermione said quietly after being quiet for some time.

"Zis?"

"Yes, I never thought I'd be able to feel so safe and so complete in someone's arms."

"You deserve zis, you know? After everything you went zrough." While speaking, Fleur caressed her left arm just over the scar. Hermione knew that if it was anyone else, she would flinch. But it's Fleur. She smiled instead and snuggled closer to her girlfriend. No other word was needed. "I've always dreamed of 'aving eet. I never zought eet would become reality, only 'oped. Eets uncommon for a veela to find zeir mates." The blonde said after a moment. They spoke as if they were on holy ground. Quietly, as if afraid of disrupting the tranquillity of the moment by speaking any louder. Hermione lifted her head just enough to make eye contact with the veela and reached her cheek with her free hand, softly stroking it.

"You deserve it too, love." She, then, kissed Fleur purring everything she felt for her in it.

"Do you really want to change your job?" Fleur asked after they had settled into holding each other again.

"Yeah, I guess..."

"Why?" the blonde looked at her curiously.

"Well, firstly I feel like I can help more with all those Death Eaters at loose." Hermione began listing the reasons she had been thinking since the idea of changing departments came into her mind. "Then there's the fact that I really want to help put that disgusting git in jail. And I really miss the action, honestly..." Fleur nodded at her motives, as she seemed to be preparing to talk, Hermione spoke again: "And well, there's that super awesome auror that currently trains the newbies and I'd like to spend some time with her..." She grinned.

The blonde laughed. "Ees zat so?"

"Oui. Oh, I forgot to mention that she's French, her accent is quite cute." Hermione added giggling.

"Umm..."

"I guess I might have to confess that I get worried sick when she has to go to the field... I can't help it." She said solemnly and seriously.

"Oh, 'ermione, I am very careful when I'm out. But I understand, I zank every possible God and Goddess zat we found each other after zee war."

"Me too."

"We might make a great team."

"We already do, love."

"Indeed. So I'll make an appointment with Tonks to discuss zee early training, zen I believe you should talk to your current boss..."

"I'll make an appointment with her on Tuesday. And try to make one tomorrow with Professor McGonagall..."

They heard a knock on the front door and startled. Hermione quickly looked at the time and sighed.

"We are coming in!" Harry's voice came from the front door.

"We'll be out in a sec!" Hermione answered before Fleur had the chance to say anything. "I guess it's dinner time..." She pulled the blonde for a light kiss and got out of bed.

"Oui. I 'ad forgotten about it, 'onestly."

"Me too."

They got to the living room to find their three friends sat on the couch, Luna in the middle, patiently waiting for them.

"You forgot, haven't you?" Luna asked smiling.

"Completely," Hermione admitted despite knowing that she wouldn't hear the end of it.

"Well, I was almost sure it would happen and made us a reservation for us at the Japanese nearby." Harry grinned while making some effort to keep Ginny quiet (by placing a hand over her mouth). "Sorry, dear." He added to Luna as he had to lean on her to get to Ginny. The Claw simply smiled and kissed his cheek.

"I could cook something... I zink eet wouldn't take long."

"No, Fleur. I insist. Besides, we have been dying to try this restaurant. Do you like Japanese? Sorry, I should have asked first." Harry shook his head still keeping Ginny from talking. The redhead was already rolling her head.

"I might 'ave a small passion for Japanese food..." Fleur relented smiling.

"I got it right then." Harry grinned then flashed a disgusted face. "Ginny, love, it was quite not hygienic from your part as we have spent the afternoon out and I didn't wash my hands yet." the disgusted face that the redhead flashed made everyone (aside from herself) laugh loudly.

"Ew, Harry why did you do it anyway?" Ginny said as she swatted his hand from her face. Harry shrugged and looked at the clock.

"We should get going."

"Is there time for us to change?" Hermione asked, suddenly aware of her clothes.

"Sure... We can wait here or at the restaurant..."

"No way in hell we are leaving without them!" Ginny intervened, "They will take forever if we leave now."

It was Hermione's time to roll her eyes. "It will take just a minute."

"You know were everything ees, feel welcome to get something to drink. Zere ees a bottle of wine open in zee wine cooler, eef you want."

"It's the one with the white label. The one we usually have."

"The other is designed specifically for the two of you," Luna added, smiling.

"How did you-, never mind. Yes..." Hermione was slightly shocked but then she realized it was Luna who she was talking to.

"We won't be long," Fleur said, walking back to the bedroom.

"No funny business!" Ginny shouted before the couple closed the door.

As promised, the couple was back in the living room in less than half an hour. Fleur wearing a flowing black dress (that only did good to her figure, Hermione decided after almost jumping on her) and the lioness had decided to wear skinny jeans and a black button-up (she looked quite dapper and Fleur made sure to tell her that). As Hermione took time to notice her friends' clothes she noticed she and Ginny had some similar clothes on, except for the pullover the ginger was wearing. Harry was similarly formal and Luna had decided to go with a red dress, not too flowy nor too tight. They were all having some wine. The group left the building talking animatedly, it didn't take long for them to reach the restaurant nor to be taken to their table.

"It's really good to be on muggle London. No stares, no one hunting us down for autographs..." Harry sighed as they got comfortable and asked for drinks.

"The stares are really annoying..." Hermione agreed. "All that autograph thing is getting completely out of hand! And we have been at Hogwarts most of the time..."

"Zere are people disturbing you at school?"

"Mostly not, but there are some students that try to follow us…" Harry answered. "Most of them are discouraged by the prefects but a few are rather bold."

"Uhm…"

Their drinks arrived then and they changed the subject to a more pleasant one. After eating, they went back to Fleur's.

"We should go soon…" Hermione said.

"Oui…" Fleur looked a bit sad. "Oh, I've been meaning to ask… You really want to begin training to be aurors?" Aside from Hermione, they all nodded.

"It's not my main wish for a career but it would be nice to be prepared…" Ginny said, grinning.

"I'm sure you are going to be scouted, Gin." Hermione offered.

"Yeah, let's hope so…" Ginny smiled.

"I'm sure you will." Fleur agreed. "I'll talk to Tonks tomorrow zen. I'm sure she will allow zee training eef Minerva does too."

Fleur was aware of how early it was. If she was to be honest to herself, she was also aware as to why she was awake at such an ungodly hour, nervousness. Unfounded one but still there. As she walked through the corridors of the Ministry (that was almost desert), she was able to picture working with Hermione and Harry. She got to her and Bill's office, flicked her wand to make some coffee for her while looking through the stack of paper she had on her desk. She sent her boss a memo as soon as she finished going through the papers. Now she simply had to wait, either for Bill to show up or Tonks to answer her.

"You wanted to talk to me, Delacour?" The law enforcement head knocked on the open door while walking in. Fleur had been checking and signing the paperwork she had left.

"Oui… But I zought you'd call me to your office…"

"Yeah, I've been there since yesterday. Thought a bit of a change of environment would be good for my sanity…"

"You spent zee night 'ere?" Fleur couldn't help but raise an eyebrow at it.

"Yes," the metamorphmagus sighed. "I just realized I had an awful lot of paperwork to go through… Rem understands and has been taking care of Teddy." She grinned at the thought of her husband and son. "What did you want to talk about, Fleur?"

"Oh, zee girls and Harry asked eef eet ees possible for zem to get an early training…"

"Brilliant! I'm sure we can make something work. I just need to talk to Kingsley and Minerva… I doubt it will take much convincing…" Tonks talked excitedly, "Though I thought Ginny was focusing on Quidditch…"

"She 'as been thinking of a second career choice…"

"I see…"

"'ermione still 'as to talk to 'er boss…"

"Yes, I'll wait for that memo before I begin my moves to make it work."

Fleur nodded. "I'll let 'er know. I believe she was zinking of coming tomorrow to talk to Lufkins."

"Ok. Oh, and Delacour?"

"Oui?"

"I hope working with your girl won't affect your efficiency."

"Tonks, if anything it will affect it for the better." Bill joked as he entered the room, having heard part of the conversation. "We are talking about Hermione after all. And Fleur."

"I can only hope." The head left the office laughing. "Don't disappoint me, Delacour!"

"Je ne vais pas!" Fleur shouted back, smiling. Not everyone was able to have a friend as their boss.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello my dear readers! It's me, your friendly neighbour Celtic!
> 
> So... that one was kind of a filler right? But what do you think? I really like writing them in a (mostly) normal routine... Well you probably didn't notice (I only did when I was getting everything in order) but that night in the hospital was actually the Halloween eve... Yep, they never really get a normal one right? (that was accidental I swear!)...
> 
> Please comment, I'm always pleased to learn what you think! Kudos give me life!
> 
> ;3
> 
> See Yah!
> 
> Oh, right, Fleur says "I'm not going to" in that last line...
> 
> PS: If you feel like sending me requests suggestions or prompts, feel free to reach me by PM or email me: celticdaughterfics (gmail)


	47. Chapter 46

Hermione reached the Ministry after lunch, she was a bit nervous. She kind of felt like she was letting her boss down but also that she had to do this, she actually wanted this. Her feet unconsciously got her to Fleur's office, she smiled at the sight of her girlfriend so focused.

"So beautiful." She said, knowing the blonde was aware of her presence. Fleur looked up after writing something on the paper she was working on.

"'ello, ma Belle!" She smiled widely. The blonde got up and walked to Hermione, kissing her softly.

"Uhm, I wanted to say hi… I'm should go talk to Evangeline. I'll come back after?"

"Fais-le s'il te plaît!"  _(Please do!)_  Fleur kissed her again. Hermione felt her nervousness decrease. "She'll understand, mon coeur. Eet's in your nature want to 'elp as much as you can. Anyone who knows you ees aware of eet."

"Thanks, love"

Fleur kissed her. "Now go. I'll be 'ere when you come back. Paperwork." She grimaced. Hermione laughed as she made her way to the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures floor, she was being waited.

The lioness took a deep breath and knocked at the head's door.

"Come in! Oh! Hermione, good afternoon! What can I do for you?"

"Well-" The lioness took another deep breath. "I've been thinking, and - well… I feel the need to-"

"I'll make it easier for you, dear. You want to change departments." Hermione looked startled at her boss. "I swear I think this place witnesses more gossip than Witch Weekly Mag." The woman smiled. "Apparently an auror heard Fleur talking to Tonks, and began bragging. Don't worry, Hermione. You have contributed a lot already. I can only hope that, when and if you decide to retire from the field, you'll consider coming back to our department. I'm sure you'll be an asset to any department here."

Hermione released a sigh she wasn't aware she had been holding. "Thank you, Evangeline."

"Sure. And if you think of a proposition don't hesitate to come to me. I'll be happy to hear and discuss it."

"I'll make sure to do so."

"I need you to sign this." The head of the department handed her an official parchment. "It's the transferring requisition I'm sure Tonks is expecting it." Hermione signed and watched Evangeline sign just beneath her signature. "Are you going there now?" The lioness nodded. "If I send it as a memo it will arrive at the same time as you. So I guess you could take it there." Hermione nodded again, watching the older witch slide the document into an envelope and offer it to her. "Don't be a stranger, Hermione."

"I won't." The brunette grinned, hugging her former boss. She liked her, they had similar lines of thought.

She walked back to the Law Enforcement floor trying to ignore the gazes she received. Before going to Fleur's office, she went where she knew was Tonks' office. The door was ajar and she shyly knocked on the door.

"Hey, 'Mione!" The metamorphmagus greeted her, smiling.

"Hello, Tonks!" Before anything else, she lifted her hand that was holding the official envelope. "Evangeline asked me to bring it to you." She smiled as Tonks beamed. "I hope you'll take me?"

"Oh, please! I'm proud to take all the golden trio under my wings!" The older witch joked. "Even it one of them is kind of a slob…" She added in a whisper, making Hermione giggle. "Speaking of him, I'll probably move him to Harry's function after he comes back from his suspension. Mostly because no one currently wants to work with him, thanks to the Malfoy fiasco, but also to keep him away from Delacour..."

"Honestly, Tonks? I doubt even Harry and Ginny are currently willing to stay too long with him in the same space. I know I really have no will to do so."

"Because of the-"

"No, he has been awful ever since the beginning of school. Since before, actually..."

"I see..."

"They are a tad protective of me and Ron said some nasty things to and about me... Even Luna is annoyed with him." Hermione shrugged. If she was being completely honest, the youngest male Weasley had always been a bit awful with her. He wasn't that good friend...

"That is something... 'Mione, I'm sorry for whatever he said... He's awfully prejudiced most of the time, I can't really know how he is that way. Maybe too much time with Percy..." She chuckled, "Anyway, I need to file this awesome request and go after Kingsley. Probably tomorrow we will meet up with Minerva and you four to discuss everything. Now go save your girlfriend from her desk and tell her that is dismissed for the day. If everything with you goes as smoothly as I think it will, she will be working more than ever in no time." The older witch's hair changed from purple to electric green as she directed Hermione to Fleur's office. She walked silently, as the department head had retreated to her own office only after two steps out. Hermione smiled thinking she would be able to spend part of the day with her veela. It was only mid-afternoon and she only had to go back to Hogwarts before dinner (that was something she decided for herself, she already felt bad for having so many privileges). She entered the room quietly.

"It seems that you are my new boss now." Her voice startled Bill, who all but jumped in his chair.

"Merlin, Hermione! A little bit of sound would be good to let us know you are there!" The older Weasley whined clutching his chest.

"Fleur didn't startle."

"She always knows when you are near." The men rolled his eyes. "And you are perfectly aware of it!" His annoyed facade was broken by a wide smile. "Good to see you! Welcome to the muscle division."

"Bill, I was supposed to welcome 'er." Fleur pouted, glaring at him as she walked to greet Hermione properly.

"Well, if she had the consideration of announcing herself, I might have allowed you to do so. She didn't though."

"Tu es une nuisance.  _(you're an annoyance)_ "

"Seulement pour toi.  _(only for you)_ " He grinned at the couple.

Hermione changed Fleur's focus by kissing her jaw. "You can greet me while we spend some time together. The Boss says you are dismissed for the day."

"Woah, dating someone in the golden trio does give a person regales!" Bill joked.

"Stop complaining, Weasley. Delacour will work far too much after the agreements with Minerva." Tonks interceded as she walked by. "I'm on my way to Kingsley."

"Send 'im our regards."

"Will do. Now get out of here, Delacour!"

"Yes, Ma'am!" Fleur saluted Bill after grabbing her purse and left the room with Hermione right after her (she shouted a 'see you later' before following the blonde). "What do you want to do, chéri?"

"I don't really know. I'm down for some quiet time at your's…" Hermione smiled at how Fleur's face lit. "But if you want to do something else…"

"Non, home ees good for me." Hermione's heart fluttered with the way she said home as if the flat was her's too. They walked to the entry hall of the building holding hands, it was hardly a secret that they were together after all, and flooed home.

As soon as they stepped out of the fireplace Hermione jumped on Fleur. She manoeuvred the blonde until her knees met the sofa and, with one swift motion, the veela was sat with Hermione straddling her. Their lips never parting. The lioness felt strong hands on the small of her back, pulling her closer and then those same hands moved down and grabbed her ass, making her moan into the kiss. She pulled Fleur's hair a bit (only enough to make her gasp and move her head slightly to the side) and drew the line of the blonde's jaw with her lips, they were both panting. The veela moaned loudly when Hermione reached her pulse point, pulling her even closer. Fleur moved to capture her lips again kissing her deeply. The veela's hands slid under her shirt and up her back, making the lioness moan raspy. The need for air came in the right moment and they ended the heated kiss with soft, loving, pecks. Their noses brushing against each other and their foreheads joined. As their opened their eyes they looked deeply into the other's eyes, some would say they were watching the other's soul intently but to them, they were simply admiring something that they came to know as part of their own selves. Hermione grinned as she saw the adoration in Fleur's eyes and she knew hers held the same emotion. After a few moments simply gazing at each other and smiling, Fleur pecked her lips once again.

"What did I do to deserve such a welcome 'ome?" She grinned, nudging her jaw with her nose.

"Can't I kiss my girlfriend whenever I feel like?" The brunette raised a brow at it.

"Of course you can. I just zought zis specifically 'ot kiss would 'ave a motive behind."

"Uhm, you looked amazing all focused on work..." Hermione pecked the veela's lips, "and you said home as 'our home'... I simply wanted to show you how much I love you."

"I love you too, mon Coeur." Fleur kissed her jaw lightly. "Eet ees our 'ome. You are part of my 'ome. You are part of my world, you are my universe, actually."

"So very smooth, Miss Delacour. You are mine." Hermione hugged Fleur and they stayed that way for a bit until the blonde suggested a cup of chocolate to her.

"You are coming back to 'ogwarts to dinner, oui?" She asked as she slid the steamy cup to Hermione over the counter while sipping hers.

"Yes... I'd stay-"

"But you already feel bad for zee rule bending Minerva ees doing for you. I understand, ma Belle."

"You are a fantastic woman, love." Hermione grinned.

"I try."

* * *

Fleur quietly walked to her boss' office, she knew why she had been summoned. It was nearly the end of the day and, if she had to be honest, there was nothing she'd like to do more than go home and rest (that itself was a lie, there was something she would be gladder and that was seeing Hermione).

"Minister, sir. Tonks. Good afternoon." Despite the formality of her words, a smile gazed her face in affection for the two in front of her.

"Auror Delacour." Kingsley greeted her seriously, but a smile was present in his eyes. Tonks simply smiled and nodded at her.

"We have to go in five. I doubt it will be hard convincing Minerva we will soon be free to go home." The minister said as they sat together and waited for a bit.

"So, tell me, why did she decide to change departments?" Tonks was obviously curious and the question made amusement sparkle in Kingsley's eyes.

"Zee youngest Weasley." The blonde answered with a smirk.

"What?" The metamorphmagus looked shocked and Fleur chuckled.

"She said she wanted to do eet after zat dumb boy managed to lose Malfoy..." Fleur knew what Tonks expected to be the answer. Fleur laughed at the other witch's shock. "I zink eet's time." She added, looking at the clock over the fireplace. Kingsley was the first to go, then Tonks and then Fleur.

"Good evening, Miss Delacour," Minerva said as she stepped out of the fireplace and into the Headmistress' office.

"Bonjour, 'eadmistress." Fleur smiled.

The professor motioned for them to sit, "So?" she asked with a raised brow. It was obvious to Fleur that the older witch already had an idea of what they were doing there.

"Minerva, we'd like to discuss with you a possibility." Kingsley began, "It came to my knowledge that four of your seventh years are interested in joining the auror program."

"Yes..." Fleur noticed that the teacher's eyebrow was yet to come down and that she was actually giving the minister an amused look. "There are a few more, actually."

"The ones I'm talking about are under special circumstances..."

"Oh, for the love of Merlin, Kingsley! It's Harry, Hermione, Ginny and Luna. Since half of them are already working while in here and the four of them are under special rules-" Tonks rolled her eyes at the way the minister was approaching the subject, Fleur had to hold back a laugh at the exasperation in the head of department's manners.

"And zat all of zem asked for zis," Fleur added. The metamorphmagus nodded.

"We wanted to negotiate a way for them to be trained while they are here." Kingsley leaned forward as he concluded the line of thought.

"Have you rehearsed all this?" The stoic Headmistress smirked. "I was aware that Hermione was asking for a transferring and have been wondering how much longer Harry would be away from any kind of action..."

"They are students, just kids. They-"

"Headmaster Dippet, these - as you call them - kids were almost single-handedly responsible for our victory in this last war. Half of them lost their last year in school because of a quest Dumbledore gave them so we could win the war. The other half were in this very school leading a resistance so that all students could still have some kind of sense of security. These kids are war heroes, former Headmaster. They have come back to this school in order to formally finish their education while they could have simply have gone immediately to living their lives. Honestly, I risk saying that if it wasn't for the four of them we would be living in a much darker era." Minerva huffed, clearly insulted by the portrait.

"I really hate to say this, but I have to agree with Minerva, Professor Dippet," Snape added calmly. "That insufferable trio saved us all and the two girls saved a lot of half-bloods and Muggle-borns from torture."

"Thank you, Severus. Now, I imagine you three have something brewing in your heads as to how to make it work. Should I call them so we can discuss it with them? Thankfully Miss Weasley is already off age, convincing Molly would be a nightmare."

"It might be a good idea to have them here too..." Kingsley agreed.

Minerva called Dobby (who greeted them, especially Fleur, joyfully) and asked him to find them and say they were expected at her office. Looking at her guests, the older witch offered them some tea while they waited for the four students. Half an hour later, a soft knock announced the arrival of the younger group. With a flicker of her wand, the door opened to reveal the four of them. They seemed momentarily shocked. That is, except for Hermione. She simply greeted everyone respectfully before fully entering the room. Fleur immediately stood up and offered her the chair she had been sat.

"Hey, love. Thank you." Hermione kissed her softly and sat. Fleur stood alongside the brunette, who seeing it accioed a chair for her and smiled at the blonde. She then looked at the other three with a raised eyebrow. "Are you going to stand there?"

Luna was the first to recover and entered the room, dragging the other two.

"Did you know why we were summoned?" Ginny asked Hermione as soon as she recovered her voice. The brunette shook her head, "Then how didn't you get surprised?"

"Uhm, well..." The older lioness began to answer but before she could formulate anything, she looked at her girlfriend to know if she could say what she wanted in front of the others. Fleur nodded. "I smelled her scent near the gargoyle... And I guess I kind of sensed her emotions too... Stronger, I mean." Fleur drew some calming circles on the back of Hermione's hand as soon as she sensed her nerves escalating. The brunette's face in deep crimson.

"Oh..." Ginny nodded, apparently impressed.

"You are fully mated, then," Minerva concluded with a raised eyebrow.

"Non." Fleur began to exhale a calming thrall as soon as the Headmistress basically began to discuss their sex life. She felt her girlfriend relax almost immediately and felt a tug on her hand as Hermione tightened her hold on her hand thankfully.

"As far as we understand, our connection is stronger than usual. This is something that rarely happens when both mates are fully or part veela and it's unheard of when one of them is human." Hermione informed seriously. The blonde could still feel the tension in her body but her demeanour was absolutely calm.

"Each connection ees unique and we are still tracking 'ow ees ours," Fleur added as Minerva nodded.

"I personally think that it has to do with how we feel about each other, our trust level, how comfortable we are with each other. The constant development of our connection is making us be more like one."

Minerva smiled. "I should have known you'd to be more than expected…" The animagus seemed proud in Fleur's opinion, and curious. But the witch seemed to come to the conclusion that it wasn't the right time for such a conversation. "Well, we should discuss what your four were brought here to. Minister?"

"Right. I believe it was your idea to join our forces?" The four nodded. "And you are aware you will need to go through a series of tests and a lot of training in order to do so?"

"With all due respect, sir, but we are acquainted with more than half of the department and basically family to at least four of them-" Harry seemed a little exasperated.

"Although one of them we are not proud of even being friends," Ginny mumbled, making them all chuckle. "Or sister." She rolled her eyes.

"Yes, sir. We are aware of all the requirements." Hermione interrupted her friends' rants. She spoke politely but it was obvious to Fleur that the brunette was a bit annoyed by the minister's lack of objectivity.

"Well Kingsley, I told you they knew." Tonks smiled. "We're here to decide how everything is going to work." She beamed. "I do have to add that it's an honour to have you all in the force." The four younger wizards smiled at them.

Fleur stayed silent the whole time they discussed the terms of the training. The first thing Tonks suggested was a test, something for them to know where they were good enough and where they would have to work more. Minerva suggested that they had at least one weekend free for them to rest, something they all promptly agreed. Kingsley made a few observations but he too preferred to stay quiet. At the end of the meeting, it had been decided that the group would go through a few tests in the next Sunday (as Gryffindor had a Quidditch game on Saturday) and that Fleur would be responsible for their training but she would have help when needed. Minerva made sure to tell them to keep their school work up to date or she would call the deal off as the main priority was their school year. All was set and Tonks and Kingsley bid everyone farewell.

"Fleur, you can stay if you want." Minerva smiled at her as she started moving to say goodbye. The blonde nodded and ceased her movement. The Headmistress seemed to want to ask something.

"You can ask, 'eadmistress." Fleur smiled as she remembered how curious she seemed while they were talking about the mating connection.

"I know the Veela are secretive and I don't want to impose myself due to a simple curiosity." Minerva moved so they were all sat on the couches she had in the office and offered some tea and biscuits.

"My Grandmère allowed me to decide with whom I'm allowed to share zese information. I know you will keep zem to yourself, Minerva." Fleur explained what they knew about the usual mating process and what they had figured out about hers with Hermione. "According to zee 'ealers zat came last week, 'ermione ees already developing a third core." She added by the end of her explanation.

"So that might explain your current connection…"

"Yes… But not why it's developing now or ever. As much as I understand, it's not common for the human counterpart to develop a veela core…"

"But eet's not unheard of, in my opinion, eets due to 'ow you accept me and my veela and 'ow you connect with me as a whole."

"It does make sense…"

"It's getting late, I suppose you should get going." The headmistress said as she looked at the clock and then shooed them from the office.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello my dear readers! It's me, your friendly neighbour Celtic!
> 
> Changing departments, setting a schedule up...
> 
> Please comment, I'm always pleased to learn what you think!  
> And kudos keep me moving!
> 
> ;3
> 
> See Yah!
> 
> PS: If you feel like sending me requests suggestions or prompts, feel free to reach me by PM or email me: celticdaughterfics (gmail)


	48. Chapter 47

Hermione melted into the embrace the second she woke up. Being held by Fleur was something similar to heaven to her. She felt the blonde tighten the grip on her and realized that the blonde was awake.

"I definitely sleep better when you are with me." She rolled in Fleur's arms, so she was facing the Veela. "And I really don't want to get out of bed." Her girlfriend was chuckling at her laziness and she hid her face into the blonde's neck. Hermione heard a gasp and a contained moan as soon as she nibbled her neck and smirked as the veela's breathing became paintings (it didn't take long).

"Eef you keep zis up, you definitely won't leave zee bed, mon Coeur," Fleur said after a particularly hard bite, as the brunette soothed it with light kisses. She smiled and began moving her kissing up to her jaw and then to her lips.

"Good morning, love." She beamed. Sometimes she still had a hard time believing the gorgeous blonde was hers.

"Bonjour, 'ermione." she pulled the brunette in for a short kiss.

"Bonjour..." the brunette sighed. They began to get ready for the day and as soon as they were both ready, they left the room. Hermione said goodbye to Fleur by the fireplace and the blonde promised to floo her when she got back home in the evening, as always. The lioness sighed heavily, at least she would be able to see her again the next day. Being McGonagall's protégé was really something to be grateful for.

The next two days went by smoothly, even with a not so good night of sleep in the middle. Well, for her there was no stress. She couldn't say the same about her brother and best friend. For them, the two days were nerve-wracking. This first game was always the most important one to Gryffindors as it was against Slytherin, and she knew for a fact that Ginny was giving her blood to show everyone she was good enough to make it to the professional teams (which she definitely was) while Harry was all about supporting his girlfriend. Luna was trying to keep the air as light as possible while she and Hermione tried to reassure them both. That Friday, Hermione, as always, rushed from class to their quarters.

"Merlin, you saw her yesterday morning..." Ginny said as she went through the portrait hole about five minutes after Hermione had.

"Oh, shush! You do the same with Har if you spend more than 24h away from him." Hermione rolled her eyes. "And you basically live with both your dates! You have no say in this." The older lioness laid on the couch and accioed the book she had been reading. That was the only thing that gave away how serious she was about the auror training, it was about tracking and anti-tracking spells. It didn't take much longer for the fireplace to lit up with green flames and the blonde beauty step out of it. Fleur made a beeline to her, picking the book from her hands and reading the name of it.

"My studious girlfriend... 'ello, ma Reine..." the veela leaned down and softly kissed her. "Enjoying zee reading?"

"It's very informative but some of those seem to be rather ineffective..." She moved so Fleur could sit after greeting the others.

"Zey are. I 'ave some better material for you to read eef you want."

"That would be brilliant! Thank you, babe..."

"Anything for you..." Fleur kissed the top of her head and held her closer.

"We are leaving for dinner, lovebirds..." Ginny announced, "don't do anything I wouldn't!"

"We can do anything zen!" Fleur laughed. "And we will be working 'ere. 'onestly, woman, you only zink about sex?!"

"Who said anything about sex, Delacour?"

"I'm pretty sure I'm speaking in Hermione's behalf too when I say I really don't want to hear you talking about anyone's sex life!" Harry hurried to the portrait hole dragging Ginny, Luna calmly following them.

"I don't really care, Har. It's better to hear about it than to hear the action. And I've already heard it more than I'd like to." Hermione smirked seeing how red her brother's face had become.

"I swear I'll cast a permanent muffliato in that bedroom." She heard him mumble as they went through the portrait accompanied by the redhead's laughter.

"So, food now and work later?" The blonde suggested and Hermione agreed, immediately calling Dobby.

Three hours later, Harry and the girls found Hermione and Fleur handling two huge stacks of paper, while even more parchments were in small piles all over the room. Each pile had a month and a year magically written hovering over it. Paper and parchments were flying around and landing on specific piles.

"Sorry for the mess..." Hermione said as soon as she noticed them (it didn't take long, actually).

"Ok... The work's done?" The redhead asked while looking around.

"Not yet but we figured we could organize eet already as we actually 'ad more fronts zan we initially zought."

"It's almost finished, though."

"Zen we'll go zrough eet again before we send eet to Shacklebolt..."

"You really got yourself a soulmate, 'Mione!" Ginny beamed.

"Yeah, yeah. Go have your beauty sleep already, ginger." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"I'm only going because it's a game night." She climbed the stairs with Harry and Luna following.

The two left in the room alone once again resumed their work until everything was neatly organized and stored in labelled folders. It didn't take much for them to sleep when they got to bed. They were both awakened by Ginny, apparently trying to make sure that they would all be on time for the game. Hermione groaned and swore loudly while Fleur laughed at her demeanour. The older lioness pushed her girlfriend from the bed.

"Too happy too early." She mumbled after Fleur yelped in surprise.

"Sorry, chérie."

"Whipped!" Ginny exclaimed as she left the room.

"Still proud of eet!" Fleur shouted back.

"We are going down in thirty!" Harry shouted from his room as both doors were open. "Don't be late, you two!"

"That's my line, smart-ass!"

"Oh, Hermione is grumpy today..." Luna said in a soft tone. And that was the last thing they heard as Hermione slammed the door shut with a flick of her wand.

"'ey, come 'ere," Fleur said to the brunette as she was once again laying in the bed and the lioness was standing near it. She tugged the witch's hand until she moved as asked. "Bonjour, ma Belle..." she said after a long kiss.

"Good morning, love." And Hermione kissed her again, Fleur felt the brunette relax into the kiss. "I'd love to keep kissing you right now, but if we aren't downstairs in about twenty minutes, the two of them will come barreling into here." The blonde groaned but allowed Hermione to get up and out of bed. Fleur had been officially invited, as she was the instructor of the DA (that was a good excuse for Fleur to be there), to watch the game and spend the day. The breakfast was joyful, some of the team members joined them on the table and they all had a great time. After eating, they made their way to the pit with the group of first years they had basically adopted. Ginny and Harry went to the locker room while the rest of them made their way up to the stands. Luna began climbing the stairs two steps a time and the rest of them followed her, the younger blonde pulled from her bag the roaring lion head she always used during every Gryffindor game and placed it over her head. The younger part of the group began to laugh when the hat roared at them.

"Where did you find it? That's fantastic!" Dallas beamed.

"Oh, it was simply a lion hat when I bought it. It began roaring after I put some spells on it…" Luna smiled at him, she spoke in a dreamy voice making it sound as if it was a very simple thing to do.

"Can you make one of those for me?"

Luna simply nodded and cast a Gemini spell, generating a copy of the one on her head. "It will vanish in about a day, I think. But at least now you have one to cheer." She beamed at the raven-haired young Gryffindor.

They had been the first ones there as they had accompanied two of the players (actually, even them were early). Half an hour later, the stands began to fill up. The one they were on held mostly Gryffindors as Luna's hat managed to catch everyone's attention even on the ground. As Hooch walked to the middle of the pitch, Fleur produced two omnioculars and gave one to Hermione, who noticed Luna producing one too. As if they had the same mind, she and Fleur cast a few Gemini spells until all the group was holding the device.

"Thanks!" All of them said at once. And then everybody's eyes were on the ground to watch the team walk in and get on their brooms.

They cheered loudly as Ginny managed to get the Quaffle before the snakes could as the flying teacher threw it in the air. As she sped up towards the hoops, a Bludger went flying towards her being quickly deflected by one of the beaters. Hermione was certain she heard Luna sigh. Before Ginny could go through half of the opposite field, she got hardly body-checked and had to drop the ball to make sure she could stay on the broom. It was quickly caught by a Slytherin chaser who began to race his way to the Gryffindor hoops being closely followed by an annoyed Ginny. He passed the ball to one of his teammates who struggled to hold the ball and stay on their broom as the pass had been done wrongly, apparently. Hermione knew enough about the sport to be able to name most of the classic moves and fouls. She had been truthful when she said she knew the rules, the only thing she disliked was the whole need to be flying. Hermione was cut out of her musings when everyone on the stand she was in cheered as one. She was caught off guard and got absolutely frightened until she felt an arm envelope her.

"'ey, you alright?" Fleur asked with her mouth near her ear in order to be heard. The brunette's breath caught as she felt her girlfriend's mouth so close to her. She nodded despite herself and looked at the blonde.

"Yeah, I was just lost in thoughts, the cheering gave me quite the scare." She felt her cheeks heating.

"You didn't see zee goal?" She shook her head, Fleur smiled at her and refocused on her omnioculars. The lioness couldn't help but feel disappointed for not having her girlfriend's attention anymore. A light kiss on her temple got her back to reality and she saw Fleur offering her the device she had been fidgeting with. "Zought you'd like to see zee first point of zee season." Fleur offered as the brunette accepted the viewing device.

She watched the re-run of the move. She saw the three Gryffindor chasers speeding through the pitch, Ginny holding the Quaffle being flanked by the other two, the green-clad chasers trying to reach them. As they reached the middle of the Slytherin field, a Bludger was sent in Ginny's general direction; the three chasers briefly parted so they would be able to deflect the rageful ball, the redhead gracefully made a manoeuvre (she was actually showing-off) and the iron ball passed without any damage done then the other two chasers were back flanking her. In a quick movement, the Quaffle was passed and with a feint the crimson-clad player scored, making the ball pass through the lower hoop. Fleur had resumed watching the game with the brunette's omnioculars so Hermione kept the blonde's with her. She watched the game absentmindedly, leaning on her girlfriend most of the time and stealing a few kisses from time to time. She didn't want to disrupt the French's concentration, but she couldn't help it. She watched the Slytherin team be massacred as the Lions scored point after point. She saw the moment the snakes get frustrated and angry and begin a more violent game as one of their chasers had the Quaffle stolen and a point be scored in the following move. Honestly, that game could be barbaric. She rolled her eyes as she saw once more the referee signal a foul in favour of Gryffindor. Ginny got the ball and tossed it to the other chaser who quickly tossed it back and off she went towards the scoring area, the redhead manoeuvred around opposing team members and the two Bludgers thrown her way and threw the Quaffle up, soon striking it with her broom's tail. The force it obtained kept the keeper from being able to block the shot, that went through the highest hoop. A classic move for the redhead, she had been doing this one for such a long time that her aim was almost infallible. She celebrated the score by sending a kiss to Luna and making a small loop. It took some time for another goal to be made, but it was scored in favour of the Slytherin team. The stand they were in began chanting 'Go Go Gryffindor' soon after, the roars of the two lion hats became louder as the other students became louder, cheering. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw something dive. She had been following the Quaffle being tossed between the crimson chasers but moved her attention to what she was pretty sure was Harry spurting into action, she was right as a moment later whoever was narrating the game yelled: "Potter must have seen the snitch, people! He just dove towards the ground out of nowhere!" The cheering got even louder and everyone now watched Harry fly around the field (who wasn't using omnioculars wasn't capable of seeing the small ball) being chased by the Slytherin Seeker. Bludgers were tossed towards him, only to be deflected by a Gryffindor bat. Harry was near enough to try and catch the tiny ball. The stands went silent as everyone watched him stretch an arm and not reach it. Hermione saw the complete focus and resolution on his face as he moved his body on the broom, leaning forward. She knew then he was going to catch the snitch, no matter what. She rolled her eyes as the realisation came to her, they were both showing off. To Luna. They were so obvious she couldn't help but chuckle. She focused on Harry again, seeing him readying himself to leap from his broom. As he jumped she heard a few gasps around her and smiled. Harry was about to be the first years to-go subject for a while. She knew someone of the team would cast something to keep him from hurting himself, so she told herself not to worry only to see him be grabbed by one of the beaters. Her summoned his broom and got on it before showing the snitch to everyone. Madam Hooch signalled the end of the match. Gryffindor, 290 points, and Slytherin, 70. Everyone began to descend the stairs and they sat back to wait for the crowd to lessen.

"So, what did you think?" Hermione asked their younger companions as she leaned on Fleur.

"It's a good sport. I get the appeal. But I still don't get the flying thing." Moire was the first to answer. The others objected to her last phrase but they all agreed that the game was wonderful. Hermione laughed when Blake pointed out Harry's leap and glanced at Luna who had a dreamy smile. Teagan, on the other hand, was yelling that Ginny was the best player on the team, no wonder the team had won. They began their way towards the ground with the younger Gryffindors discussing each moment of the game, it reminded her of her first year.

"A Knut for your zoughts." Broke her from her memories.

"I was just remembering my first year. Harry managed to almost swallow the snitch and it seemed like he was about to puke when he landed, or rather, crashed down. He was everyone's conversation topic for almost a month." She laughed. "And obviously he almost had died that day…"

They waited for Ginny and Harry outside the lockers, but the younger group had followed the bigger mass of cheerful Gryffindors going towards the castle. Fleur had her arms around Hermione, both facing Luna when they saw the younger blonde's eyes lit up.

"Pretty amazing catch, 'arry…" Fleur said, smiling even before the two players came to view.

"Such a show-off…" Hermione teased as Ginny greeted Luna and waved to her and her girlfriend. Harry following closely (and blushing).

"That leap was quite unnecessary, babe…" Ginny mock-glared at him obviously trying hard to contain the smile on her eyes from taking place on her face.

"Sorry…" He reached for the back of his own neck.

"You were incredible!" Luna beamed. "I was worried for a minute there, though." She kissed his cheek after a small glare. "You too!" She turned to Ginny who was watching the two of them affectionately, "You are a fantastic player!" She kissed the redhead's cheek as she did Harry's.

"That you are." Hermione beamed at her best friend.

"Eh, eet was good enough…" Fleur said, the tease clear by the way she smirked and the glint in her eyes, but Hermione swatted her arm lightly anyway. "What? I was just saying what I zink!" The blonde faked being hurt, making the other three laugh.

"Why am I even close to you bunch?" Hermione rolled her eyes at their antics.

"Parce que tu m'aimes. (Because you love me.) As for zem I 'ave no idea." Fleur said, kissing Hermione's cheek.

"Because I saved you from a fucking Troll," Harry said in all seriousness, making the rest of them laugh.

"Well, I made summers better?" The redhead offered.

"Hardly. You were always playing with them." Hermione laughed at Ginny's stuck out tongue.

Luna didn't offer any answer, simply smiling at Hermione.

"Anyway, we have a party to go to!" Ginny shouted dragging her boyfriend and girlfriend towards the castle, Hermione and Fleur following them calmly.

The party was in full swing when they entered the Gryffindor Common Room. Hermione saw a few Weasleys' Wizard Wheezes's treats going around the room and butterbeer bottles in the hand of virtually everyone in there. Most of the goers were from the crimson house although there were a few Puffs and Claws, the Slys were clearly too close to house pride to be present at a party celebrating someone winning over them. As they entered, Bottles were immediately pushed into their hands by some smiling six-year. As soon as the rest of the Quidditch team noticed them inside the room, they moved as one to hoist Ginny and Harry. Everyone hollering, applauding and laughing as some butterbeer spilt from the bottles. Hermione guessed that the responsibility for the music was with a Muggle-born as the music playing (from what she listened) was basically muggle music.

"What ees eet zat ees playing?" Fleur asked her, her mouth close to her ear.

"Spice Girls."

"Oh, zat muggle girl group, right?" Hermione nodded.

"Spice up your life." The brunette offered after hearing the lyrics. "The one that's playing…"

"Zey're good…" Fleur smiled. They moved to sit on a couch by the fireplace, Luna following them and the other two soon joining them. Some stronger beverage was soon in their hands, although all of the completely conscious of the tests they would have to go through the next day. But it was early afternoon, there was food at a table on one of the room's corner and there was always the possibility of a pepper-up potion, not that any of them planned on having to go there.

An hour later found the five of them sat at the same place sharing memories and laughs. Hermione was especially enjoying the music as they remembered her of her other world, she was swaying a bit along the music playing. She was completely at ease, being at Hogwarts helped, but the familiar moment, a party in the common room with her best friends made the night perfect. The firewhiskey made her a bit looser. Moire appeared out of nowhere, smiling but a bit shy.

"Hermione…"

"Yes, Moire?"

"Uh, the guys were saying there is no way you would dance with us…" The first year had her face completely red and Hermione couldn't help but feel sympathy for her.

"What did you say?"

"I just wanted to ask you all to come…"

Ginny was the first to stand, nodding. Luna smiled and followed her, dragging Harry (who had a terrified expression) along. Hermione looked at Fleur, who simply shrugged and smiled. Hermione smiled back then stood, beaming at Moire. As they reached the rest of the first-year group, another Spice Girls' music began to play. Moire began teaching some of the moves she knew from the music-video and soon the whole group was trying to dance to the hit. As the last chorus began, Hermione, Fleur, Ginny, Luna, Moire, Kassidy and Teagan were all singing along with the music and dancing to the choreography of Stop of the girl group of the moment.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Hello my dear readers! It's me, your friendly neighbour Celtic!
> 
> What did you think of Quidditch? Also some fluff and working... And a scene that I don't seem to be able to get out of my mind: Hermione dancing SPICE GALS! LOL You have no idea of how much I laughed when I wrote this!
> 
> Please comment, I'm always pleased to learn what you think!
> 
> Kudos are life!
> 
> ;3
> 
> See Yah!
> 
> PS: If you feel like sending me requests suggestions or prompts, feel free to reach me by PM or email me: celticdaughterfics (gmail)


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